The author is completely right about the raw mechanics of investment decisions (and sometimes they are just that when a pharma company is sizing up buying an asset), but has written up a really thought provoking piece which was interesting to read. Though I deal with time preference every day, I hadn't quite internalised how much influence it had for early spending.
In terms of my experience, very similar, I worked in global HQ for a large pharma company, responsible for my small part of things for 4 products. 2 failed in Phase 2, and the other 2 failed their Phase 3s. I moved to another pharma company where I was focussing on launch products, but every now and then one would disappear off the radar. For other the trial results would come in, and it only worked on half the patients. We expected all these to work - the science was impeccable, the animal models demonstrate a good basis for belief... it just didn't happen. Every drug that works really is a needle in a haystack.
On the making development attracting, I've been forutnate enough to be able to volunteer some of my professional time to a patient group trying to attack the problem in a different way, and make it possible to get medicines commercialised in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The approach is led by a couple of really impressive executives* and is trying to get companies to collaborate to pull together some of the materials the author mentions (rather than all do them in isolation with variable quality). They recently won an award for their work, and thoroughly deserve it. These kind of initiatives are what can really make a difference, and de-risk an area for many companies - the lay of the land is known, and there is high quality understanding of what matters to patietns, and the natural progression of disease. It also means that companies developing medicines can engage to make sure their trial program targets the right patients, and measures the right things. If anyone is interested: https://hercules.duchenneuk.org/publicity
* I say executives because that's what they are, and the role they play. They all have sons with DMD which is their motivation, but that label that doesn't do justice to the amazing work the group does - as an example where there are generic medicines that might help, they are funding trials to find out!