In the rapidly changing pharma landscape worldwide, the traditional business model no longer meets the requirements and hence, the industry needs to move away from it. The biggest concern for the industry right now, however, is what the future has in store for them.
The pharma industry today operates in an uncertain environment. Intensifying cost pressures, declining revenue streams, increasing late-stage failures, stringent price controls and an uncertain global economy add to its woes. In the rapidly changing pharma landscape worldwide, the traditional business model no longer meets the requirements and hence, the industry needs to move away from it. The biggest concern for the industry right now, however, is what the future has in store for them.
Companies are increasingly focussing on outsourcing, emerging economies, personalised medicine, developing therapeutics for highly unmet medical needs and risk-sharing with partners. The anniversary issue of Pharma Focus Asia lines up a collection of thought-provoking articles from the best minds in the industry that deal with the most pressing issues for the pharma industry and try to provide possible solutions.
The cover story, Pharma’s Future, sheds light on the future of the industry and how a significant transformation can help it survive these uncertain times and emerge as a stronger industry. The era of blockbusters might come to an end and personalised medicine could be a major driver behind it. Michael Liebman from Strategic Medicine provides more details on it. Outsourcing in the industry is here to stay and India is a front-runner. JB Gupta from GVK Biosciences discusses the opportunity that lies in India and how it will be a force to reckon with in the future. Kenneth Kaitin from Tufts University highlights the role of emerging economies in reducing R&D costs and speeding development times while also becoming large potential markets.
Pharma for long has been criticised for not addressing the medical needs in the developing world. Adam Renslo from University of California analyses the situation and suggests ways the industry can work with non-profit and academic organisations to address the issue. Antibodies represent a major breakthrough in treating cancer, a major cause for deaths worldwide. Horst Lindhofer from TRION Pharma explains the concept of Trifunctional antibodies, the first drug candidate and how they represent a promising new cancer therapeutic with their unique mode of action. Supply chains play a major role in optimising the capacity and boosting the profitability of a company in any industry. Hussain Mooraj and Wayne McDonnell from AMR Research take the concept forward by discussing how supply chains that are designed with outside-in perspective help companies meet demand from the customers efficiently.
If there was a time for a change, it is now. And the change is evident in small measures across the world. The future is bright for those willing to embrace change and place their bets intelligently.
