In 2008, America’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology research companies set a new record for biopharmaceutical research spending with an investment of $65.2 billion to develop new medicines and vaccines. Government and industry sponsor more than 80,000 trials in the United States each year, representing as many as 5,000 to 6,000 protocols. [Sources: National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “Pain: Hope Through Research.” http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chronic_pain/detail_chronic_pain.htm#toc, Retrieved July 31, 2009. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America “Biopharmaceutical Companies’ Investment in R&D Increasing Steadily” http://www.innovation.org. Retrieved July 31, 2009]
Emergency physicians have the expertise and the tools to treat a person in the midst of a pain crisis, but those with chronic...
