Another year of less-than-impressive R&D spending by the pharmaceutical industry has re-ignited the annual sparing match between industry and the organization that compiles the data. The Patented Medicines Prices Review Board (PMPRB) reports that companies belonging to Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC – formerly Rx&D) spent $770 million on R&D in 2016 or 4.9% of its $15.6 billion in sales – a ratio unchanged from 2015.