Inside an R&D lab of AstraZeneca. Photo credit: AstraZeneca

1. The return on R&D investment to develop new drugs has fallen to an eight-year low at 12 major pharmaceutical companies. The average cost to bring a drug to market now approaches $2 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2010. Forecast annual peak sales, however, are $465 million, down from $816 million in 2010. (Reuters)

2. Pfizer received FDA approval for Ixifi, a biosimilar version of Johnson & Johnson’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade. Other FDA-approved biosimilars of Remicade include Pfizer and Celltrion’s Inflectra and Merck and Samsung Bioepis’ Renflexis. (Healio)

3. Novartis’ generics unit Sandoz plans to sell or discontinue some non-core products in the U.S. The move was prompted by pricing pressures. (Reuters)

4. Eli Lilly said demand for diabetes drug Trulicity and psoriasis treatment Taltz will be key revenue drivers in 2018. (CNBC)

5. Researchers from the FDA are looking to address concerns about 3D printing for drugs, such as how to evaluate performance and how it can monitor quality. (FDA)