Plenary Session - An Overview of the Industry:Past,Present,and Future

I have enjoyed this Plenary Session for the past several years and it certainly met my expectations this year, however, we need to cut down on the number of slides.

One speaker challenged the audience with the following question, "What business would you rather be involved in - Banking, Auto's or Pharma/Biology/Biotech. We all know the answer and that's we're at this meeting.

The following market forces were identified as having a significant impact on the industry:
1.Generics (72% of all Rx products dispensed are generics)
2.Safety and reputation
3.Innovative drought
4.Rx to OTC switches
5.Medicare Part D and Medicaid
6.Economic slowdown
7.Healthcare reform.

That pretty much says it all!!!!

In answer to the question, Is the current crisis different?
The answer was - yes - because of the systemic nature of it and the pervasive uncertainty that has been created as a result of it.

There are some new necessities that influence the present state of the industry and will drive the future of the industry.They include: big pharma patent cliff and the need for big pharma to reinvent itself.

Is the biotech business model sustainable? The answer was that the new rules of the road include: focus deep,search wide,prove quality; cash is king and get ahead of change.

Another major comment was that the good news is that Biologics make up 17% of the global market and growing.

The final speaker talked about the growing and significant contribution of medical affairs departments' in the industry. He noted that the tension caused by the balancing the needs of patients and creating value for shareholders can be bridged by medical affairs.

This was a great session and everyone in the industry should be exposed to this analysis.