Drug industry in 2020, at Economist

A wide range of issues were covered at The Economist's 14th Annual Pharmaceutical Conference in London, UK, which was on the theme of "Pharma 2020: shaping the future of the pharmaceutical industry." The one-day event covered the future of drug pricing and of R&D, the patient as consumer and the information gap in the European Union (previously reported: Marketletter February 28). There were also sessions dealing with discussions about the sustainability of vertically-integrated big pharma firms, possibilities for new forms of collaboration and visions of the developing markets and their impact on the industry as a whole.

John Patterson, executive director of development at Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca, discussed the challenges, opportunities and complexities of the future. He noted that several business commentators have remarked upon the ever-increasing pressure on the pharmaceutical industry, citing a report in The Economist from October last year, which stated that "the deterioration of the American market will force drug firms to come up with new business models." Key among the problems facing drugmakers is the cost of bringing a new product to market, which is not only measured in investments, but also in longer approval procedures, which have a negative effect on the proportion of a patent's life that a branded medicine can be exploited.

However, looking at the positive side, Dr Patterson said that the emergence of a global aging population, which is unprecedented, pervasive, enduring and has profound social and economic implications, will represent a real unmet medical need which the drug industry is able to fill. In addition, the next decade is likely to be one where there is a multitude of uncured and under-treated diseases, including the growing problem of drug-resistant bacteria.