Should patients appreciate pharma?

This week executives, analysts and stakeholders in the pharma and biotech industries gathered in London for the Financial Times Global Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Conference. Discussions ranged from the future of personalized medicine to the impact of the economic crisis. Views were exchanged, questions answered and avoided, and the audience got the chance to vote on some key issues.

The range of topics covered are too numerous to mention here, but the overall feeling about the industry was one of cautious optimism. Yes, it’s been hit hard by economic factors in the last decade, but many firms are recovering (albeit after restructuring programs and cost-cutting) and recovery is on the horizon. The future of pharma also holds many opportunities, from biosimilars and personalized medicines, to the growth of emerging markets such as Africa. Health care was also discussed, as with people living longer and life-saving drugs costing cash-strapped governments even more, a balance has to be reached to save lives while providing for older people who commonly, we discovered, have more than two co-morbidities. Hungary’s Minister of Health told the conference that in response its government is doing more to tackle the population’s lifestyle changes, such as smoking cessation and eating habits, as it attempts to curb long-term conditions.

Is appreciation necessary?