Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
{{Short description|Academic research institution}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
| formation = {{start date|1976}}
| founder = Louis Lasagna
| type = Independent, Academic, Non-Profit Research Center
| purpose = Researching drug development
| location = Boston, Massachusetts
| leader_title = Director
| leader_name = Kenneth Getz
| website = {{url|http://csdd.tufts.edu/}}
}}
The Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development is an independent, academic, non-profit research center at Tufts University in Boston, dedicated to researching drug development. It was established in 1976 by American physician Louis Lasagna.{{cite web | url = http://csdd.tufts.edu/about/history | title = History | publisher = Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development}} The Center develops and publishes information to help researchers, regulators, and policy makers in areas related to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In any given year, approximately 55% of Tufts CSDD's operating expenses are supported by grants from the private sector and 45% from the public sector.{{cite web | url = https://csdd.tufts.edu/financial-disclosure/ | title = Financial Disclosure| publisher = Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development}}{{cite web | url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/what-does-it-cost-to-develop-a-new-drug-latest-study-says-2-6-billion-1416529149 | title=What Does It Cost to Develop a New Drug? Latest Study Says $2.6 Billion | work=Wall Street Journal | date=20 November 2014 | access-date=21 November 2014 | author=Silverman, Ed}}
Research
The Center studies trends in the pharmaceutical industry, maintaining databases pertaining to investigational new drugs, approved drugs, biopharmaceuticals, fast-tracked drugs, and orphan drugs.{{Cite web | url = http://csdd.tufts.edu/research/databases | title = Databases | publisher = Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development}} The Center provides this information with the aim to improve the efficiency of drug development, foster innovation, and increase patient access to medicines.{{cite web | url = http://csdd.tufts.edu/research/research_agenda | title = Research Platforms and Current Research Agenda | publisher = Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development}}
=Drug development costs=
The center has published numerous studies estimating the cost of developing new pharmaceutical drugs. In 2001, researchers from the Center estimated that the cost of doing so was $802 million,{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/01/business/research-cost-for-new-drugs-said-to-soar.html | title=Research Cost For New Drugs Said to Soar | work=New York Times | date=1 December 2001 | access-date=21 November 2014 | author=Pear, Robert}} and in 2014, they released a study estimating that this amount had risen to nearly $2.6 billion. The 2014 study was criticized by Medecins Sans Frontieres, which said it was unreliable because the industry's research and development spending is not made public.{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pharmaceuticals-tufts-idUSL2N0T82C620141118 | title=CORRECTED-Tufts says average new drug costs $2.6 bln to develop, critics wary | work=Reuters | date=18 November 2014 | access-date=21 November 2014 | author=Pierson, Ransdell}} Aaron Carroll of the New York Times also criticized the study, saying it "contains a lot of assumptions that tend to favor the pharmaceutical industry."{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/upshot/calculating-the-real-costs-of-developing-a-new-drug.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0 | title=$2.6 Billion to Develop a Drug? New Estimate Makes Questionable Assumptions | work=New York Times | date=19 November 2014 | access-date=25 November 2014 | author=Carroll, Aaron}} The center's 2016 estimate, published in the Journal of Health Economics, found the cost to have averaged $2.87 billion (in 2013 dollars).{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.01.012 | journal = Journal of Health Economics | volume = 47 | date = 2016 | pages = 20–33 | title = Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry: New estimates of R&D costs |author=Joseph A. DiMasi |author2=Henry G. Grabowski |author3=Ronald W. Hansen | url = https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/12742/1/DiMasi-Grabowski-Hansen-RnD-JHE-2016.pdf | pmid=26928437| hdl = 10161/12742 | hdl-access = free }}