Thinking Allowed

I've been looking at a few industry reports on the future of biopharma as part of a course I'm on with INSEAD Business School on Business Strategy and Financial Performance.

I thought I'd share some of my ramblings on Biopharma Futures.

Pharmaceutical companies are operating under a spotlight with an expectation of faster innovation, of delivering societal impact, benefiting and better representing the needs of patients, collaborating, and being more cost effective. The recent pandemic highlighted the ability of pharmaceutical companies to deliver scientific innovations and this has added to the expectation of more rapid drug development, streamlining of drug regulations, and a role in the prevention of future healthcare crises. Pharmaceutical companies recognise that they need to partner with others to find innovative approaches 'outside the walls' of the company. There is also a drive to bring patients to the centre of innovation to ensure more diverse representation in clinical trials (making results more widely applicable) and to better understand the priorities for improving people's health.

There is an emerging focus on small patient groups (or even individuals) and rare diseases through screening, monitoring, diagnostic technologies, and pharmacogenomics. Combining and analysing clinical data from multiple sources can also help identify early information on disease.

Current technologies are leaving the lab and could they be at a similar stage to biologic therapies a few decades ago. Examples include gene therapy, other DNA technologies, and precision technologies such as robotics and nanotechnology.

There is an ongoing digital transformation of the work of pharmaceutical companies and the delivery of healthcare. There is also the growing field of digital therapeutics.

The current business environment sees economic uncertainty with COVID-19 recoveries, the need for more resilient supply chains, and the recognition of the growing importance of China.

Sources:

Anthony Bruce, Dr Luke Solon. PwC. "What does the future of work look like for pharma?" Accessed February 2022. https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/pharmaceuticals-life-sciences/insights/what-does-the-future-of-work-look-like-for-pharma.html

The Medical Futurist. "The 10 Trends Shaping the Future of Pharma". 26 August 2021
https://medicalfuturist.com/top-10-trends-shaping-future-pharma/

World Economic Forum. "6 expert essays on the future of biotech". 23 January 2020
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/6-expert-views-on-the-future-of-biotech/

McKinsey. "Biopharma 2020: A landmark year and a reset for the future". 8 January 2021
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/life-sciences/our-insights/biopharma-2020-a-landmark-year-and-a-reset-for-the-future

Deloitte Insights. "The future of biopharma: Reimagining traditional business models in 2040." 23 March 2020
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/future-of-pharmaceutical-industry.html