The global race to discover the next life-saving medicine is more intense than ever, but when it comes to the starting line and the finish line for drug research and development, all signs still point to one clear leader: the United States.
Far from resting on its laurels, the U.S. biopharmaceutical ecosystem continues to be the world’s most productive engine for new therapies. This leadership isn’t just a matter of pride; it’s a measurable reality evidenced by the sheer volume of new drugs making it to market. In 2024 alone, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research approved an impressive 50 novel new molecular entities. Even more telling is that a significant majority, 68 percent of those novel drugs, were first approved in the U.S. before any other country, highlighting America’s role as the primary global launch pad for medical breakthroughs.
What fuels this incredible output? It’s a powerful combination of public investment, private-sector risk, and a streamlined regulatory process. Much of the foundational science that underpins these breakthroughs originates not in corporate labs, but in the halls of American universities and research institutions, often supported by steady and significant funding from the National Institutes of Health. In fact, one study suggested that the taxpayer investment by the NIH, in the form of basic and applied research for new drug approvals, is comparable in scale to the spending of the pharmaceutical industry itself. This partnership provides the initial spark.
The private sector then steps in with the capital and infrastructure needed to conduct costly and complex clinical trials. The U.S. boasts a vibrant venture capital community, which is essential for funding the smaller, innovative biotech startups that have become the primary source of new drug ideas. These emerging biopharma companies are driving innovation, originating an increasing share of the novel new drugs that reach patients.
Beyond traditional pills, the U.S. is on the cutting edge of advanced therapies. Areas like cell and gene therapy, mRNA technology, and CRISPR gene editing are attracting record levels of investment and are seeing tremendous progress within American borders, with the U.S. being a dominant force in the financing of technologies like CRISPR. We are seeing this focus translate directly into patient care. For instance, in the 2024 novel drug approvals, over half of them were treatments for rare or “orphan” diseases, which often have few or no existing treatment options.
The FDA also plays a critical role, using tools like Fast Track, Priority Review, and Breakthrough Therapy designations to accelerate the evaluation of promising new medicines. In 2024, two-thirds of the novel drugs approved benefited from at least one of these expedited programs, moving vital treatments to patients faster than ever before. While global competition, particularly from places like China, is growing, the foundational strengths of world-class research, robust investment, strong intellectual property protections, and a dynamic ecosystem of major pharma companies and agile biotech startups ensure that the United States remains the undisputed global leader in bringing innovative medicines from the lab bench to the patient bedside.
