Health · Facts & sources
4 sourced facts about medicines and the pharmaceutical industry, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Answer50 novel drugs
The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research approved 50 first-of-their-kind drugs in 2024, in line with the roughly 40-60 novel approvals typical of the last decade.
Source: FDA, CDER Novel Drug Approvals (2024) fda.gov
Answer3 phases (plus a 4th after approval)
Phase 1 checks safety in a small group, Phase 2 looks at effectiveness and side effects, and Phase 3 confirms benefit in a larger population before FDA review; Phase 4 monitors the drug after it is already on the market.
Source: FDA, Drug Development Process (2024) fda.gov
Answer$467.0 billion
Retail prescription drug spending grew 7.9% in 2024, one of the faster-growing pieces of total U.S. health spending that year.
Source: CMS, National Health Expenditure Data (2024) cms.gov
Answerabout 12%
Most experimental drugs fail somewhere along the way -- only about 12 of every 100 medicines that begin clinical trials ever reach the market.
Source: Congressional Budget Office (2021) cbo.gov