Each year, the approval of new prescription drugs offers the medical community and the general population access to a larger pool of therapeutic options to choose from. However, with these drug approvals also comes the potential for significantly higher drug prices — something to which many Americans have become accustomed over the last few years.

The Food and Drug Administration only approved 22 new medicines in 2016, which was the lowest total since 2010. But there are several reasons for this decline, which was actually expected. At the beginning of 2016, it was reported that U.S. drug approvals were on track to drop more than half in that year compared to 2015 figures.

One reason is that a select number of drugs were approved in the latter part of 2015; another is that some applications submitted by pharmaceutical manufacturers for new drugs turned out to be rejected or delayed. Other contributing factors included a decline in research and development investment and the political pressure that is mounting over high drug prices.

The drug approval process can be rigorous — especially with the growing concerns about the rising cost of healthcare and treatment. This can put the process at a standstill in some cases.

In recent years, the pharmaceutical drug market has witnessed the launch of many novel and innovative drug therapies that can treat both common and rare conditions. This has expanded the treatment options that are available and also offered the potential for improved quality of life for many individuals.

But that sometimes comes at a significant cost.

A great example is the drug Spinraza, which is the first drug to treat patients with spinal muscular atropy. Spinraza was one the last drugs to receive FDA approval in 2016. While this drug is novel in treating this rare and fatal genetic disease, the price is astounding at $125,000 per dose. With this dramatic price, there will undoubtedly be a limit to which patients will be able to take advantage of this new medication.

In 2014 and 2015, the pharmaceutical industry experienced a significant spike in drug approvals — demonstrating a 19-year high — but 2016 did not experience the same outcome.

The pharmaceutical market ended 2015 with 45 new drug approvals, compared to the 22 that were observed for 2016. It is worth noting that the approval of new indications for existing drugs was not included in the count for 2016.

Despite the decline in 2016, the majority of the drugs submitted did receive quick approvals. Only time will tell whether a correction will occur with the potential new drugs to be presented to the FDA in 2017.