U.S. Biotech Companies Decrease R&D Spend, Study Finds

R&D efforts are a mission critical activity for biotech companies, but according to a new report, company performance is not always directly linked to the level of R&D efforts undertaken.

Research and development expenditures in the U.S. biotechnology industry have declined for the second straight year as companies narrow their focus to only the most promising products and initiatives.

On average, biotech companies in the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI) spent $54 million on R&D in 2010, reflecting a 7 percent decline from 2009. This follows the 9 percent decline in spending seen in 2009 and is consistent with the global drug industry, which cut research spending for the first time ever in 2010, according to Thomson Reuters.

R&D efforts are a mission critical activity for biotech companies, but according to new report by BDO USA, company performance is not always directly linked to the level of R&D efforts undertaken. For companies tha