And now we add the 3 to 6 years from the active substance synthesis and the 6 to 7 years from clinical testing phase we end up with a max of 13 years until a drug is finally available for purchase, now we subtract this number from the 20 years of the patent protections, which starts at the first synthesis of the active substance. You end up with 7 years where the pharmaceutical companies can make money to cover the development and research costs that are around 2,4 billion euro per new product.

And this, kids, is why developing homeopathic "medication" is so much more profitable. No tests, no annoying regulations, just easy money. I'm definitively in the wrong industry.