Year of publication 2013

The global pharmaceutical industry is in a time of dramatic transition. Downward pressure on prices from many governments has increased due to the global economic crisis. At the same time, the “patent cliff” has arrived, with patents on many of the most profitable products in all the major companies recently expired or expiring in the next few years. Demand from emerging markets, in particular China, India and Brazil, is expanding and industry revenues continue to grow, but in recent years new drug launches on the market have declined. Leads and synergies promised by consolidation over the last few decades have failed to materialize, and many believe that decades of mergers and acquisitions have in fact hurt the industry’s competitiveness and ability to innovate. This policy brief shows market trends in the global pharmaceutical industry.