Defining “Innovativeness” in Drug Development: A Systematic Review

This systematic review of 42 studies found that conclusions about whether pharmaceutical innovation is declining depend critically on the measurement method used: studies using simple drug approval counts were more likely to find favorable innovation trends, while studies using other measures of innovation were more likely to find unfavorable trends or reach no conclusion. The ongoing debate about pharmaceutical innovation trends reflects fundamental disagreements about how to define and measure innovativeness in drug development, necessitating clearer methodological consensus.