14 Big Pharma Firms Spent More Enriching Investors Than on R&D

The leading 14 Big Pharma firms paid out more to enrich their investors than they spent on research and development from 2016 to 2020, according to a report by the U.S. House Oversight Committee. The report also divulged big payments to top executives.

The leading 14 Big Pharma firms paid out more to enrich their investors than they spent on research and development (R&D) from 2016 to 2020, a report published late last week by the U.S. House Oversight Committee revealed, renewing calls from healthcare reform advocates for urgent action to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs in the U.S.

The report — the sixth in a series on prescription drug prices — notes that the 14 companies spent nearly 10% more on stock buybacks and dividends than they did on developing and testing new medications.

Meanwhile, according to the report, the 14 firms “spent over $3.2 billion in aggregate executive compensation for their highest paid executives in the past five years,” an increase of 14% during the four-year period analyzed by congressional researchers.

According to the committee’s report:

  • From 2016 to 2020, the 14 leading drug companies spent $577 billion on stock buybacks and dividends, compared with $521 billion on R&D — a $56 billion difference.
  • Assuming the same rate of spending, these 14 companies are projected to spend $1.15 trillion on buybacks and dividends from 2020 through 2029. This is more than twice the amount the Congressional Budget Office projected would be saved by H.R. 3 (Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act) over the same period.
  • From 2016 to 2020, compensation for the 14 companies’ top executives totaled $3.2 billion, with compensation growing by 14% over that five-year period.
  • Many drug companies spent a significant portion of their R&D budget on finding ways to suppress generic and biosimilar competition while continuing to raise prices, rather than on innovative research.

“Today’s staff report makes clear that Congress needs to act to rein in out-of-control prescription drug prices,” House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

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