In most industries, competition is a good thing. It forces companies to be innovative, and in the end, consumers win. But that's not always the case with drug development. The lengthy R&D process--and the high likelihood of failure--means that companies developing competing medications waste a great deal of time and money. The Motley Fool suggests several steps drugmakers can take to eliminate waste from their R&D budgets. These include combining expertise to develop a drug, collaborating to improve drugs already on the market and participating in patent pools, especially for neglected diseases. Report