Growing demand for healthcare
There remains a strong fundamental demand for healthcare that underpins the industry’s future growth prospects. Although this growth is slowing as a result of increased pressure on healthcare budgets in certain key established markets and evolving generic competition, specific elements that continue to contribute to the strength of the industry include:
- The increasing number of people who can access the highest standards of healthcare, especially among the elderly, who represent a rising proportion of developed nations’ populations.
- Many diseases are under-diagnosed, sub-optimally treated or do not have effective therapies.
The demand for healthcare will be met not only by existing therapies but also by new ones originating from advances in both the understanding of the biology of disease and the application of new technologies. Innovative new products have been launched by the industry in recent years, which are both changing therapeutic approaches and improving the quality of life for patients.
In addition, fast-developing economies such as China and India continue to offer new opportunities for the industry to gain access to an expanding number of patients who can benefit from medicines. Pharmaceutical companies that are able to make efficient investment decisions, fully utilise their intellectual property and manage relationships with their stakeholders should be well positioned to benefit from the demand for healthcare and the new opportunities for the industry.
