Pharma vs the world: Big Pharma caught between investors and public

Big Pharma today encounters a variety of pressures from generics manufacturers, governments, patient advocacy groups, investors, physicians and even other pharmaceutical or biotechnology firms, according to industry experts GlobalData. In contending with these pressures, companies strain to focus upon the needs of their main stakeholder, the investors or shareholders, it says.

As the timeframe of exclusivity shortens and regulatory requirements increase, companies are faced with declining profits and decreasing brand cachet, especially in emerging markets. On top of this, they have to deal with reference pricing and stringent healthcare cost controls being set up by various governments, particularly in Europe. According to Sanofi’s chief executive, Chris Viehbacher, the financial situation in Europe has been costing the company 200 million euros–300 million euros ($262 million–$393 million) a year as a result of governments’ health care spending cuts.

Sanofi price battle in Japan