The biopharma industry is entering the second half of the year with a spring in its step. After seeing pessimism engulf the sector in 2023, GlobalData found healthcare industry professionals had a sunnier disposition as they assessed their growth prospects in its latest survey.
Healthcare industry professionals were a cheerful bunch as they began to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind them in 2022 but the situation soured sharply last year. In 2022, GlobalData found 81% of the respondents to its survey were optimistic about the industry’s growth prospects for the next 12 months. Last year, the figure fell to 47% as inflation, geopolitical problems and more weighed on the industry.
The last two surveys suggest 47% was the nadir. GlobalData saw the proportion of people optimistic about growth climb to 60% when it polled the industry six months ago. The outlook was rosier still in the latest survey when 73% of the 124 surveyed healthcare industry professionals said they are optimistic about near-term growth. Seven percent of people said they are pessimistic, with the rest in the middle.
Urte Jakimaviciute, senior director of market research and thematic intelligence at GlobalData, set out the reasons for “hope that the industry is on the path of rebounding from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent geopolitical conflicts” in a statement about the survey data.
“Despite the ongoing challenges in the geopolitical landscape, there is a gradual decline in inflation, which provides a more stable environment for biotech funding to show signs of recovery, signaling renewed confidence,” Jakimaviciute said. “Supply chain disruptions that plagued the pharmaceutical industry during the past few years are becoming less intense.”
GlobalData also assessed attitudes to the European Union’s reform of pharma legislation. While industry groups have sounded the alarm about aspects of the proposals, many of the survey respondents are upbeat, with 32% of people saying the reforms are positive for the industry. Around 20% of people see the changes as a negative, with the remaining 47% of respondents expecting a neutral impact.