In the first three months of 2020, stockpiling of drugs by wholesalers, pharmacies, and patients resulted in a sales boost of about US$1.2 billion across eight major manufacturers.Companies have not seen dramatic losses in revenue beyond what was expected. While interviewees said it has been challenging to sell new drugs in 2020, they believe the overall market share for products launched before the pandemic is steady. But, as one interviewee said, “It will take years for us to fully understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on the industry.” Product revenues are steady-for now Investments from private entities continue to flow into biopharma. It may also force manufacturers to reassess their portfolios to focus on development where they have their best chances. Those with excess cash may be looking to bolster their portfolios with external assets as their own pipelines are delayed. In fact, several of our interviewees see this as an opportunity for biopharma. However, if the pandemic lingers for the longer term, forecast revisions and adjustments to strategy might be warranted. “We aren’t seeing a huge shift yet,” is what one interviewee told us.ĭelayed trials, for example, save money used for recruiting efforts in the short term, but those costs will be pushed to whenever the trial resumes-which most have done. New drug launches may face some expected challenges with meeting forecasts, but interviewees said that revenue forecast revisions have not been necessary in the short term, nor has scenario planning for a second wave. We are seeing rapid uptake of digital technologies by the biopharma sector in order to facilitate internal and external operations, but will the momentum continue once the pandemic ends? And what will patients and customers want? The answers remain to be seen, but the biopharma industry should be prepared for drug development and sales to change in the postpandemic world.ĭespite uncertainty and operational challenges, finances are stableįor the most part, interviewees told us that companies are financially healthy, and that sales of marketed products have remained mostly steady. Prior to COVID-19, manufacturers viewed digital transformation as a long-term objective today, it is a necessity. Commercial functions have been forced to virtualize their operations and rethink their marketing strategies. On the R&D front, companies have had to revisit traditional clinical trial design and patient recruitment methods. This was particularly challenging for companies with complex infrastructures. While biopharma companies are adapting to the pandemic, to say that it has been smooth sailing is an overstatement. Manufacturers had to make quick decisions as well as reevaluate their priorities and how they reach their customers. Oncology and rare disease, on the other hand, have continued mostly unscathed. Sales and clinical trials were harder hit in TAs such as dermatology where the unmet medical need-one that is not addressed by existing treatments-is relatively low. We also saw differences in impact by therapeutic area (TA). Most interviewees told us that they have had to think differently-about vendors, partnerships, and digital content, for example-to navigate the crisis, and that most companies-both large and small-embraced the challenge. Challenges related to running clinical trials amid a pandemic, including reallocating sites and staff as well as adopting new technologies to keep drug development on track, dominated the R&D side of the business.A dramatically shifted sales environment, altered launch dynamics, and the scramble to implement new digital strategies drove changes in commercial functions.Interviewees agreed that it has taken organizational agility to address challenges caused by the pandemic:
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