Fear for pharma growth prospects

Words by GOLD newsdesk

Healthcare industry professionals are currently more sceptical of the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to grow compared to 2022, according to a new report published by GlobalData.

The 'State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry 2023’ report found that just 47% of healthcare industry professionals surveyed felt optimistic or very optimistic about pharma's future growth prospects, which is a 34% drop compared to the previous results.

Speaking about this decline, Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research, GlobalData, commented: “Businesses will face turbulent times in 2023, and the pharmaceutical industry is not immune to this. Financial and costs pressures, as well as increasing regulations and an uncertain economic outlook will contribute to decreased levels of optimism in the industry’s growth prospects.”

The pharma industry is typically immune to headwind threats such as global economic downturns, but the war in Ukraine and budget cuts due to pandemic recovery are impacting the sector with the same ferocity as other industries. In the US, the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is reported to be a trigger for the drop as well.

These factors were reflected in the regional differences in the results with HCPs based in North America and Europe seemingly more pessimistic than their Asia-Pacific counterparts.

Looking at the US specifically, the IRA is expected to bring a level of “turmoil” to the pharmaceutical sector, the report notes, as Medicare will be able to negotiate price for high-cost drugs for the first time.

“While celebrated as a ‘historic win’ for patients by patient advocacy groups, the act will bring substantial uncertainty to the pharmaceutical industry, as it may have a huge impact on pharma revenues and investments,” affirms Jakimaviciute.

GlobalData's survey was conducted between October and November 2022 and surveyed 198 healthcare industry professionals globally.