R&D rises in EU

Pharmaceutical & biotechnology and chemicals firms in European union are investing heavily in the industrial research and development (R & D). R & D spending by drug companies among the 2,000 firms surveyed by the European Commission as part of its Industrial Research Investment Monitoring activity, accounted 18.4% of the total in 2005, and recorded these spending up by 8.4% in 2005, over the year 2004. Chemical companies posted about 5% of the total R & D spending. The EU pharma group included 64 companies that spent a total of $21.6 billion in 2005. Pharma R & D investment ranged from the $5.4 billion spent by leader GlaxoSmithKline, to the $3.2 million spent by the British company Alliance Pharma.