21 July 2016 - The pharmaceutical industry is known to defend its big prices for drugs by citing the risky nature of drug development and the regularly touted study showing it costs more than $2.5 billion to research and develop one prescription.

But when it comes to Abbvie's Humira, there’s a clear picture showing company sales have paid off the research and development costs multiple times over while still leaving behind billions in sales and profits.

Humira, which is the world’s top-selling drug, generated $14 billion in sales for Abbvie in 2015. The revenue last year alone is double what Abbvie’s former owner, Abbott Laboratories +0.91%, paid to get Humira in the first place back in 2001. Today, Humira can cost consumers, insurers, employers or taxpayers $50,000 or more a year per patient.

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