It is well known that small business is vital to the success of the U.S. economy. Less known, though, is how instrumental it has been to the growth and innovation in drug development.

We may think of the pharmaceutical industry in terms of giant corporations, but the fact is that there are hundreds of small firms—with very few employees—that are developing many of the important drugs that we use every day. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines a small business as one with fewer than 500 employees (including employees of affiliates), but many are much smaller.

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