Every single drug company spends more on marketing than on research and development. Some, like Johnson & Johnson, spend double their R&D budget on marketing. The rest of the top ten (Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and AbbVie), in the years between 1997 and 2016, doubled their annual marketing budget as well, from $17.7 billion to $30 billion. Schmoozing doctors went from $15 to $20 billion, while direct business-to-consumer advertising increased fourfold (from $2.1 to $9.6 billion). For every $1 spent on “basic research,” Big Pharma spends $19
...more
