What will be the most dominant business trends in the pharmaceutical sector in the year ahead? As the US, the world’s biggest pharma market gears up for a new President, companies in India are scrambling to figure if President Trump will be good or bad news. India’s Prime Minister’s bold move demonetisation initiative is but yet another variable that the sector has to cope with.
But in spite of these challenges, the pharma sector in India has strong long- term potential. Provided of course, pharma CEOs can change strategies in tune with the evolving global trends. For instance, how do pharma companies cope with increasing price controls? Is partnering with government affiliated agencies the answer to meet both access issues as well as increase reach? Does a company buy assets or go the organic route? Buy overseas companies for their manufacturing units to increase global footprint or for their brands to increase market presence? Will 2017 be a year of consolidation around core strengths? Or will the pendulum swing to the other end of diversification to spread risks?
Digitisation too will play a transformative role in these endeavours, with companies striving to convert big data into usable intelligence, especially in R&D, which is pegged to be the biggest differentiator between the leaders and the also-rans.
The future for will see the war for talent in R&D ramp up even higher, as the industry prepares for life after the patent cliff. Drug development will have to keep the patient at the centre, looking to anticipate clinical needs as the global population ages. The sector will have to look for ways to make not just increase life spans but also address quality of life issues.
The challenge of meeting increasing regulatory scrutiny coupled with higher patient expectations will squeeze profit margins but will also give rise to more opportunities for the forward looking corporates, who can anticipate the mood and moves of both policy makers and consumers. Express Pharma presents experts who analyse these trends and make their predictions.
INSIGHT
– Increasing access to medicines via collaboration and digitisation
– Where the Mind is Without Fear…
– Pharma 2017: A year of opportunities and challenges
– Business trends in 2017
– Dominant business trends in 2017
– Pharma cos need to realign biz models
– Fixed dose combination drugs – to be banned or not to be banned
– Trends in global and Indian pharma industry
– Pharma cos brace up for a paradigm shift