In many ways, the economic landscape of 2023 was turbulent. High inflation? Talent shortages? Rising costs of doing business? Volatile currency markets? New regulatory hurdles? Check, check and check. To navigate the choppy waters, a significant number of companies turned to strategic M&A to drive growth and strengthen product pipelines. Despite these challenges, a handful of pharma companies have managed to thrive, while others have seen steep drops in sales. Here are some thoughts from leading executive recruiter, Nihar Parikh, on life sciences 2023 recap and 2024 outlook.
2023 Layoffs
More than 130 biotechs laid off employees in 2023 as the sector struggled with a shaky stock market and diminished funding prospects. Initial public offerings, previously a surefire way for growing drug startups to bring in new cash, were harder to pull off in 2023, while a year-to-date slump in biotech stocks made it more difficult for public companies to rely on secondary stock offerings.
2024 Outlook
The estimated market for pharmaceutical drug delivery is expected to grow from U.S. $1.17 trillion in 2022 to U.S. $1.45 trillion by 2028. This expansion is expected to be driven by accelerated adoption of digital technologies and increased investment in R&D.
Staffing for Digital Technologies
Forward-thinking organizations are already adopting strategies to deliver greater value to patients and providers, and looking for the talent who can execute on these strategies. Life sciences and medtech are becoming increasingly intertwined as the industry explores more opportunities to use AI and machine learning to automate processes, and looks for actionable insights from data generated by wearable devices, digital assistants, and smart devices. To this end, organizations are looking to recruit more professionals with expertise in digital technologies.
Contractor Relationships
A study by LabCompare found that 81% of respondents used CRO services for clinical trial management in our life sciences 2023 recap to supplement their own company operations. Long-term success will dependent on strong contractor relationships.
Digitization
Laboratories have been slow to embrace digitization, the Horizons: Life Sciences 2023 Recap suggests companies are now developing plans to leverage the benefits of advanced analytics, AI and machine learning to scale. Fifty three percent of pharma finance leaders will accelerate digital transformation with advanced data analytics, AI and other solutions to “drive standardization and automate as many processes in every area where it makes sense,” according to PwC Research.
AI in Drug Discovery
AI in drug discovery could reduce drug development timelines by two years. By finding efficiencies in the drug development process, the industry could save tens of millions yearly, bring treatments to market more quickly and improve patient outcomes.
Pricing Pressure
Click on this Numerof 2024 Global Pharma Outlook infographic to see this year’s story for insight on pharmaceutical manufacturers response to growing pressure on price from government payers, and to understand the increasing complexity and power of a consolidating yet financially pressed healthcare delivery market in the U.S.
