Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • From the Analyst's Couch
  • Published:

How much do clinical trials cost?

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 16, pages 381–382 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Despite a clear need to understand the costs of drug development and the factors responsible, there has been a surprising gap in the data relating to how much it actually costs to conduct clinical trials. Without reliable benchmarks, it is difficult for companies to identify the key pain points in their processes and then chart a path towards improvement. In addition, lack of information makes forecasting and planning budgets more challenging, particularly when embarking on new development paths or running trials in areas in which a company has limited experience.

With the aim of providing companies with a comparative baseline for how much clinical trials cost, KMR Group conducted the landmark Clinical Trial Cost Study in 2016. This assessment provided reliable cross-industry cost data to senior management at major biopharma companies, so that they could evaluate their operational efficiency and make more accurate financial projections, as well as more effectively evaluate the cost burden of licensing and asset acquisition. Here, we present some of the key findings of this analysis.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Components of the costs of phase III trials.
Figure 2: Costs of clinical trials.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. KMR Group, 150 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 1070, Chicago, 60606, Illinois, USA

    Linda Martin, Melissa Hutchens, Conrad Hawkins & Alaina Radnov

Authors
  1. Linda Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Melissa Hutchens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Conrad Hawkins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alaina Radnov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda Martin.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors of this article are employees of KMR group, a leading management consultancy that focuses on benchmarking, analytics and performance management for biopharmaceutical companies.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information S1 (box)

Data collection and analysis (PDF 157 kb)

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Martin, L., Hutchens, M., Hawkins, C. et al. How much do clinical trials cost?. Nat Rev Drug Discov 16, 381–382 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2017.70

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2017.70

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research