Be Drug Smart

Choose Generic Drugs

Generic Research and Development

It takes an average of 14 years and $800 million for a prescription drug to go through the testing and review process. Manufacturers of brand name drugs absorb these costs.*

Drug Research and Development Timeline

Select a stage on the graph to find more information on the research and development process.

How many new drugs make it through the approval process?

Only a small percentage of drugs under development get to market. The following shows the breakdown of the numbers:

• 5,000 – 10,000 potential drug compounds screened
• 250 enter pre-clinical testing
• 5 make it to clinical testing
• 1 gets FDA approval
  

For more generic drug information:

• Generics cost less
• Generics are safe and effective
• Ask about generics downloadable fact sheet (PDF)