• At least one-third of the global population—2.3 billion men, women and children—have no regular access to medicines because they are not available, not affordable, or both. (The World Medicines Situation: Access to Essential medicines as Part of the Right to Health, World Health Organization, 2011)
• Global spending on medicines will reach almost US$1.3 trillion by 2018—an increase of around 30 percent since 2013. (Global Outlook for Medicines Through 2018, IMS Health, 2014)
• Sixteen percent of the world’s population living in high-income countries accounts for over 78 percent of global expenditures on medicines. (The World Medicines Situation 2011: Medicine Expenditures, World Health Organization, 2011)
• In primary care in developing and transitional countries, less than 40 percent of patients in the public sector and 30 percent of patients in the private sector are treated in accordance with standard treatment guidelines. (The World Medicines Situation 2011: Rational Use of Medicines, World Health Organization, 2011)

• Globally, half of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately—and half of all patients fail to take their medication as prescribed or dispensed. (The World Medicines Situation 2011: Rational Use of Medicines, World Health Organization, 2011)
• Optimised medicine use could save $500 billion (eight percent) of the annual total global health expenditure. (Responsible Use of Medicines Report 2012, IMS Health, 2012)
• Only about half of all studies first presented as abstracts have been published in full. Scherer RW, Langenberg P, von Elm E. Full publication of results initially presented in abstracts. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2:MR000005 (2007)
• Positive trial data is twice as likely to be published when compared to negative results. (Song F, Parekh S, Hooper L et al. Dissemination and Publication of Research Findings: An Updated Review of Related Biases. Health Technology Assessment, 14:2 (2010)
• Drug-resistant infections cause more than half a million deaths every year globally. (UK Prime Minister’s Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, 2015)
• If left unchecked, drug resistant infections will cause at least 10 million extra deaths a year and cost the global economy $100 trillion by 2050. (Antimicrobial Resistance: Tackling a Crisis for the Health and Wealth of Nations, UK Prime Minister’s Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, 2014)
• Between 2000 and 2007 in the European Union, structural use of strategies aimed at blocking or delaying generic entry to the market cost an additional €3 billion to health systems. (Executive Summary of the Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry Report , European Commission, 2008)

• Once an originator medicine goes off-patent in the European Union, it takes an average of at least seven months for a generic equivalent to enter the market. (Executive Summary of the Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry Report , European Commission, 2008)

• Only four of 97 new medicines or indications rated by Prescrire in 2010 provided any therapeutic advantage. (Revue Prescrire, 2011)

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