DRUG FIRMS TO BOOST R&D 14% THIS YEAR

Drug companies plan to spend a record $24 billion on research and
development in 1999, an increase of 13.7 percent over last year, an industry
trade group said. In 1998, drug companies spent an estimated $21.1 billion
on R&D. The industry had 39 new medicines approved, compared with 49
approved in 1997 and 53 approved in 1996, the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America said Friday. This year, drug makers will pour 20
percent of sales into creating new treatments for diseases that affect more
than 180 million patients and cost more than $400 billion a year, the trade
group said.