Too Little Bang for the Buck in Drug Research?

I think the idea of longer patents for breakthrough drugs and shorter patents for "me-too" drugs makes a lot of sense.

From Time.com:
Whenever critics complain about the high cost of prescription drugs, the pharmaceutical industry's standard defense is that companies have to plow so much money into researching innovative new medicines. But a recently released report from the Government Accountability Office casts doubt on that rationale. Yes the industry is spending heavily on R&D, the GAO found, but it turns out big pharma isn't actually generating such a good return on their investments. ...more