2024 numbers -- Selling, General & Admin vs. R&D

Roche (Pharma Division): 7533 MCHF vs. 11096 MCHF

Novartis: 12566 MUSD vs. 10022 MUSD

Pfizer: 14730 MUSD vs. 10822 MUSD

Eli Lilly: 8594 MUSD vs. 10991 MUSD

AstraZeneca: 19977 MUSD vs. 13583 MUSD

Johnson & Johnson: 22869 MUSD vs. 17232 MUSD

The left side here contains more than just marketing, and already "far far outstripping" seems like a mischaracterization.

For comparison, the average R&D spend between these firms is bigger than the 2024 NSF budget (~9bn) and bigger than 1/4 of the 2024 NIH budget (~37bn).