What the pharmaceutical industry currently deals with

Excerpt

1. High innovation and competitive pressure within the industry
   In recent years, however, the pharmaceutical industry has had to contend with some new challenges and increasing competitive pressure. For example, large tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Samsung are trying to penetrate the market and gain a competitive advantage through their big data. Start-ups have also been trying to get in on the market for some time and try to benefit from their greater agility and speed of response. They often operate in the field of digital healthcare and offer innovative solutions associated with diagnostics as well as digital solutions for chronic diseases. Also within the industry the pressure is very high, despite years of continuous sales growth. As a result, the acquisition of highly innovative companies is part of the industry‘s usual approach. However, acquiring knowledge does not have to be the only option for successfully surviving in the strong market environment. With the right digitization strategy, companies can strengthen their own market position. The basis for this is a...
    
2. Trend toward personalized medicine
   In addition, there is a trend toward personalized medicine, in which drugs are individually adapted to the patient and his or her form of therapy. A prominent example is the cancer therapy. Here, drugs are tailored to the form of cancer and the patient. The reason for this is that the traditional “one-fits-all" model is not equally suitable for all people. After all, people react differently to medications. Every year, thousands of people therefore die due to side effects or interactions. According to the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies, there are currently 60 drugs that are used in a personalized manner. More drugs are planned for the next few years. From the perspective of the pharmaceutical industry, however, the challenge is that...
    
3. Strict approval procedures for pharmaceuticals
   In addition to these new challenges, the industry also has to contend with old familiar difficulties, not least thanks to the high risks involved in the industry. After all, at the heart of the matter is people‘s health. Conversely, human and technical errors in research, development or even production can cost human lives. A well-known example is the thalidomide scandal, in which the over-the-counter sedative and sleeping pill caused numerous malformations of newborns in the 1950s. Legislators are trying to control these risks with strict approval. After all, the development and testing of new drugs is a lengthy and costly process. If a drug subsequently fails to pass the stringent approval procedures, the high sums of research and development costs were in vain. It is therefore all the more important to...