> I remember reading a book in 2004 discussing what percentage of medical industry profits went towards research and development, verses what percentage went towards marketing.
That doesn't even make sense. Neither R&D nor marketing come out of profits. Otherwise they wouldn't be profits...
Ironically, I can't get at that article because of a paywall, but my guess would be that HuffPo is defining "basic research" in a way that excludes most of the R&D spending (which undoubtedly goes to "applied research") and is defining "promotion" in a way that includes not just advertising, but things like the sales network.
That doesn't even make sense. Neither R&D nor marketing come out of profits. Otherwise they wouldn't be profits...
Ironically, I can't get at that article because of a paywall, but my guess would be that HuffPo is defining "basic research" in a way that excludes most of the R&D spending (which undoubtedly goes to "applied research") and is defining "promotion" in a way that includes not just advertising, but things like the sales network.
The fact is that say Merck spends much more on R&D than on advertising: http://www.fiercebiotech.com/special-reports/7-merck-top-15-..., http://www.fiercepharma.com/special-reports/merck-top-13-adv...