Milford chronicle., 1959-11-20
Pharmaceutical
Industry Leads IN
Basic Research

It's no news to most Americans
that intensive medical and pharma-
ceutical research is behind great
majority of the new drugs used so
successfully today to combat such
one-time killers as tuberculosis,
pneumonia, influenza and many
other diseases.
The greater part of the research
involves the development of new
medicines or of new production
methods to lower the costs of med
icines and thus bring them to more
people.
But there is another kind of re-
search which is equally important
to the pharmaceutical industry, the
Health News Institute points. This
is basic research.
Basic research brings in no doll
ar profits; devises no saleable pro-
ducts; creates no new production
shortcuts.
Yet, according to a study con-
Quoted by Science, American in
dustry in 1853 spent more than
$3.50 100000 and utilized the talents
of almost 5000 scientists in what
the National Science Foundation
has defined as projects which are
not identified with specific pro-
duct or process applications, but
rather have the primary objective
of adding to the overall scientific
knowledge.
To conduct its share of basic re-
search, the pharmaceutical indust-
ry employed more than $50 scient-
lists in 1853 These researchers pub
lished more than 500 papers on
their approximately 20 per
published in that year.
In 1858, basic research cost the
pharmaceutical industry more than
16,000,0 900. This came to more than
ten per cent of all the money spent
by private. industry on basic re-
search, and from 20 to 25 per cent
of the pharmaceutical industry
total research budget. In compar-
ison, all American industry during
that year spent an average of about
four per cent of the total research
budget on basic research.
The 26 largest pharmaceutical
manufacturers alone spent almost
Sl1 100000 on basic research in
1853. In comparison, the lis largest
petroleum companies spent $10,-
100000 on basic research; the 109
largest chemical companies spent
SIS million on basic research, and
the 1876 largest manufacturers of
electrical equipment also spent
Sis, 100000 on basic research.
The pharmaceutical manufact-
uring industry employed more basic
researchers per 1000 employees
4.5-than any other industry. The
chemical industry employs 1.27
basic researchers per 1000 en-
ployees and the electrical equip
ment industry only .43 per 1000
employees.
This trend in expenditures on
basic research has been maintain
ed, and in some cases, accelerated
by the pharmaceutical industry
since 1858.
In 1858, the HNI reports, more
than $4,000 900 was spent on basic
research by the pharmaceutical in
dustry; this amounted to 209o of
the $177,000.000 spent by the phar-
maceutical industry for all research
and development during the year.
Seven pharmaceutical companies
alone report their total expendi-
lures for basic research at more
than $16,000,0O0.
Why this emphasis on basic re-
search in the pharmaceutical in
dustry? The answer is simple. The
reason why grass is green, or
what makes french fried potatoes
brown may be of no interest to
some. But to the pharmaceutical in
dustry, the answers to these and
other seemingly meaningless quest
ions may mean life to child dying
of leukemia; new hope to young
mother confined to a wheel chair
by multiple sclerosis; a normal
life for schizophenic in a mental
hospital, or recovery for a young
father stricken by heart disease.
PHIL ON POSTCARD