Market & Trends

Pharma industry predictions

The market for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is going to be significantly larger

This evolution will drive the continued adoption of single-use, which will enable multi-drug manufacturing facilities.

Ramping up for cell and gene therapy

With more cell and gene therapies expected to be approved in 2020 and beyond, we anticipate this sector of the pharmaceutical industry will continue to ramp up. Scalability and costs will also become focal points for delivering cell and gene therapies and other specialty therapies.

Specialty sectors will drive Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Expect oncology to be a fundamental driver for a lot of deal-making activity, as it encompasses over one-third of both pipeline assets and clinical trials. Gene therapy was clearly evident in 2019 deal-making trends and it is not yet too late for newcomers to be making moves in gene therapy manufacturing and discovery, despite the sky-high valuations.

The rise in new treatments will generate interest in innovative forms of drug delivery

The major trend of new biological treatments is undoubtedly going to continue into 2020. These will be focused on major and severe disease states and challenges of delivery of these complex molecules/systems will still hinder progress.

Cancer drugs will dominate pharma growth

Next year, eight drugs are expected to add $1 billion or more in new sales, and four of them are cancer drugs.

Northern Asia will make progress in advanced therapy R&D more quickly than the U.S.

When companies are testing new therapies in an established market like U.S. and EU, they set up clinical trials - meaning they enroll patients and then look at results. But in some countries like South Korea and China, when companies use an advanced treatment like CAR-T cell therapies on a patient, local regulators consider this to be more like a medical procedure. Because of this difference in regulations, companies can more quickly see if the treatment is working and then modify the treatments in a much faster time frame than in the Western world, where companies have to wait for trial results. This will help spur more advances in cellular and gene therapy research in Asia.

New regions will emerge as leaders in the low-cost generic market

In 2020 and beyond, pharma will see accelerated consolidation of pharma companies and fast growth of emerging markets, particularly in oncology and biologics. With generic pharma running out of ways to reinvent itself, they have few growth opportunities in their traditional markets. Generic pharma consolidation will level out with most companies worth absorbing off the table.

Emerging regional pharma companies in Europe, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the wider African continent will purchase low-profit generic assets. Great investment in this sector is underway in South Africa. Note that most drug products sold in the MENA region are more expensive than in most EU member states.

This will be the African decade where the smart money will be deployed. China has had a 10 year head start in Africa, mainly in the energy sector, and I suspect health care will be the next area of focus for China. Branded pharma will continue to divest its less profitable assets and invest in oncology and biologics drug products. Small molecules will be the battlefield for the startups and small pharma, targeting mostly repurposed drugs. There will be fewer approvals of biosimilars in the U.S. as regulatory hurdles and development costs remain complex and out of reach for most companies.

Global operations could change business strategies

As markets continue to globalize and global customer demand continues to increase, we'll see an increased focus in 2020 for establishing global operations strategies. In particular, a holistic operations strategy from pharmaceutical manufacturers is necessary to meet the pharmaceutical industry's stringent quality requirements, while providing uninterrupted service to patients.

Regulations will motivate more companies to explore digital solutions

2019 has seen many pharmaceutical firms starting to explore digital solutions to ensure they are compliant with new track and trace regulations and it's likely that this will continue into 2020. Many serialization solutions require the implementation of new data management systems to collect, store and securely transfer the necessary information between supply chain partners.

5 Secrets to Grow in Business

1. Increase Revenue From Existing Customers

There's a long-held business fundamental that one of the quickest ways to grow your firm is to make your existing customers aware of all your capabilities and product offerings or increase your market share with existing customers. In other words, it's more cost-effective to grow revenue per customer than it is to acquire a new customer. "Adopt an outside-in point of view by seeing your business through your customer's eyes, and, you will begin to identify new ways to delight your customers and grow your business.

2. Anticipate and Quickly React to Prospect Needs

When you genuinely understand and empathize with prospects, you'll have an easier time creating products and services that they truly want and desire. This insight will help you to identify ways to deliver the products and services that exceed their needs and wants. Do this, and you will attract new customers to your business.

3. Find Partners that Expand Your Capabilities

Sometimes it makes more sense to rent a capability than to buy it. For instance, forming the right partnerships can accelerate your growth into new markets instead of growing that capability organically. A manufacturing company could hire an agent, for example, to introduce a favorite product into an adjacent market segment where it doesn't have the same recognition.

4. Make Your Products and Services Indispensable for Your Customers

Integrate your products or services deeply enough within your customer's life or business processes, and you can become indispensable, if your offerings are innovative and highly differentiated.

5. Always Be Pursuing New Products and Market Opportunities

Business leaders must always be seeking out growing and profitable markets, solving customer's problems, and finding new market niches where your company can have a sustainable competitive advantage. The common denominator across all five of these steps is you have to be relentlessly obsessed with your customers. Learn and understand their pain points, what frustrates them, and know their needs.

Finding advantages in existing accounts

New accounts present several challenges, including the need to establish relationships with new people, prove your capabilities, establish credibility for your company and negotiate new agreements.

On the other hand, few of those barriers apply when you work with existing clients. Prospecting within the customer base offers at least five advantages:

1.Win rates for securing add-on business should be significantly higher.

2.Buying cycles are much shorter.

3.Incidents of "no decision" are likely less frequent.

4.Key player contacts already are established.

5.Contracts/legal agreements are in place, making you the incumbent vendor of choice.

It's dangerous to wait for clients to call you with new requirements. As an incumbent vendor, you should focus on taking key players within your customer base from latent to active needs for add-on offerings. This approach could be your entry to even higher levels within the organization, beyond the decision-makers with whom you secured the initial order.

• -> "What is cheaper, to keep old customers or prospecting new customers?"

It's Cheaper to stick with the existing! … Attracting new customers may be rewarding, but it also often involves a lot of hard work and expense. ... 70% of companies say it's cheaper to retain a customer than acquire one, while others have suggested that the cost of acquiring a new customer can be as much as seven times more expensive.