What does the future hold for pharma?

We all wish we had a crystal ball to show us what the future will hold. Instead we have to make do with predictions and analysis, estimates and forecasts, to point us in the right direction. When it comes to pharma and biotech, so much has changed over the last 20-30 years that it seems impossible to try to predict what will happen in the next quarter of a century. But this week saw industry experts try to guess what the future holds, with differing results.

Innovation will fuel pharma growth

Large figures in pharma are nothing new, but this week the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics’ annual report claimed that global spending on medicines will reach £1 trillion next year, growing to $1.2 trillion by 2017. It predicts that the growth will be fuelled by greater access to medicines by the world’s rapidly expanding middle class, together with stronger economic prospects in developed nations. The IMS says that new product launches will be dominated by innovative specialty medicines, particularly for the treatment of cancer.