The pharmaceutical research and development process only begin if the drug holds the promise of being profitable. In the past pharmaceutical companies aimed to find solutions for common diseases with high prevalence. Meanwhile, the unmet medical need did not decrease in several therapeutic areas. Public policy makers had to encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in research and development in areas with high unmet medical need. Several public measures (including financing initiatives) were introduced. In this paper, we focus on the public research and development and regulatory incentives to accelerate investment. In the past decades, there has been a considerable increase in public funding in the European Union, which diverted the attention of innovators to areas with public priorities. Still, there are areas where public funding alone could not lead to a prompt solution.  Kulcsszavak: gyógyszeripar, K+F, állami finanszírozás, Európa Horizont