Madrid, September 25th 2014.- The pharmaceutical industry based in Spain invested 928 M€ in R&D during 2013; this is reflected in the results of the R&D activities survey which Farmaindustria carries out amongst its Members annually.

This figure, even though it means a drop of 4.6% when compared with the previous year -when tough adjustments caused the pharmaceutical market to suffer during the crisis- proves that the sector remains strong in its proposal to lead industrial R&D in Spain, as has been happening in recent years.

Out of this 928 M€, 377 M, that is to say around 41%, were allocated to research contracts with hospitals, academia and public research centers (the so-called intramural research). This kind of collaborative research is key for the investigation of new medicines as well as for the scientific development of these institutions and organisms and, from 2003, the pharmaceutical industry’s contribution allocated to this very cause has increased by more than 5%.

On the other hand, intramural research reached a value of 550 M€, around 59% of total investments. The biggest share of the latter was undertaken in Catalonia, almost 47%, compared to 39% in Madrid and 14% carried out in other Spanish regions or abroad.

As far as employment is concerned, the sector employed 4,250 people in 2013. Alt-hough it is true that this figure represents a slight decrease compared to 2012, the profile of highly qualified personnel has increased; 84% of jobs created in R&D by the pharmaceutical industry correspond to graduates and doctors.

As far as expenditure items invested in R&D are concerned, the main one -aligned with current demands of biomedical research- was allocated to clinical trials, by more than 457 €M. Clinical research, undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry, has increased by 6% annually during the last 10 years. On the other hand, basic research, key for scientific advance, occupies the second place with an investment of more than 121 €M.

Finally, this Survey demonstrates the increase in biotechnology related research, especially as last year, the pharmaceutical industry invested 199€M in this kind of research, which accounts for 21.5% of pharmaceutical R&D in Spain.