Background: Pharmaceuticals are a big part of healthcare expenditures. Advancements such as the sequencing of the human genome and technical methods has led to the development of more advanced drugs. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the trends in new drug development areas and the costs of drugs in different therapy areas. Method: To do this, data from the Swedish Medical Products Agency, e-Hälsomyndigheten and the 20 biggest pharmaceutical companies regarding new approved drugs during a 20-year period, costs and new chemical entities in late development stage has been analyzed. Results: Each year, between 20 and 60 new drugs are approved. New chemical entities are most prevalent in the ATC-group L, which includes oncology and immunomodulating drugs. Innovation is also seen in group J, antiinfectives. The cost of drugs has increased during the study period, especially for oncology drugs. In the coming years, we can expect the introduction of even more oncology drugs, as mostdrugs in later development phases are expected to be classified in this group. Conclusion: Over the studied period, the most innovative therapeutic group has not changed but rather grown. The cost of drugs has also grown, possibly because of more new drugs introduced but also due to expanded indications and larger patient groups. It is hard to see a future where oncology drugs are not the biggest cost since in the coming years, many of the expected new drugs will fall into the same category.