Big Pharma, little science? A bibliometric perspective on Big Pharma's R&D decline

I think this pretty much proves the fact that if we are ever going to get drugs that stop the neuronal cascade of death. We are going to have to create a great stroke association that does its own research and translational activities. Notably like:
the Michael J. Fox Foundation
Myelin Repair and the
Alzheimers Association 
I could easily see shilling for donors, asking if they want to donate to the stem cell line of research, or the glutamate poisoning line, or the excitotoxicity line, or their own choice(naming rights available).
Or do they want to support the boring press release line, - F.A.S.T, eat healthy, exercise, prevention, etc.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162512001540

• Ismael Rafols^{a, b, ,} ,
• Michael M. Hopkins^a,
• Jarno Hoekman^c,
• Josh Siepel^a,
• Alice O'Hare^a,
• Antonio Perianes-Rodríguez^d,
• Paul Nightingale^a

• ^a SPRU — Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex, Brighton, England, UK
• ^b INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
• ^c Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
• ^d Carlos III University of Madrid, Department of Library and Information Science, SCImago Research Group, Madrid, Spain

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2012.06.007, How to Cite or Link Using DOI

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Abstract

There is a widespread perception that pharmaceutical R&D is facing a productivity crisis characterised by stagnation in the numbers of new drug approvals in the face of increasing R&D costs. This study explores pharmaceutical R&D dynamics by examining the publication activities of all R&D laboratories of the major European and US pharmaceutical firms (Big Pharma) during the period 1995–2009. The empirical findings present an industry in transformation. In the first place, we observe a decline of the total number of publications by large firms. Second, we show a relative increase of their external collaborations suggesting a tendency to outsource, and a diversification of the disciplinary base, in particular towards computation, health services and more clinical approaches. Also evident is a more pronounced decline in publications by both R&D laboratories located in Europe and by firms with European headquarters. Finally, while publications by Big Pharma in emerging economies sharply increase, they remain extremely low compared with those in developed countries. In summary, the trend in this transformation is one of a gradual decrease in internal research efforts and increasing reliance on external research. These empirical insights support the view that Big Pharma are increasingly becoming ‘network integrators’ rather than the prime locus of drug discovery.

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Highlights

► We analyze the publications by R&D laboratories of the top 15 pharmaceutical firms. ► We observe a slow decline in their total number of publications and field share. ► A more pronounced decline in publications by R&D laboratories was located in Europe. ► There are more external collaboration and research in non-traditional disciplines. ► The results suggest that Big Pharma firms are increasingly network integrators.