Business

Six months into an administration’s promise to curb drug prices, the cost of drug development remains high.  As companies scramble to reduce costs, they are moving manufacturing overseas, enticed by lucrative savings.  The question remains: are drug companies really saving money or are reduced costs in production aligned with quality, timeline and regulation issues?

Over the past decade, there has been a huge shift in the way that businesses and consumers use social media.  Society is undergoing rapid and dramatic change, fueled by an exponential rate of technological innovation.  This has an enormous impact on the pharmaceutical industry which is in a unique position to reap the benefits of increased sales, revenue and power by augmenting their technological capital.  One of the most effective methods to leverage this change is using social media, which leads us to the question: Can social media be a game changer for pharma?

Certain industries undergo mergers and acquisitions more often than others.  Industries with a significant global market share are attractive for other companies, investors or venture capitalists that see a huge upside and immediate return on investment.  Although merger and acquisition activity is common in many industries, in the pharmaceutical industry it has noticeably reduced the number of major companies over the past 15 years. The short-term business rationale for this extensive consolidation might have been reasonable, but at what cost to research and development productivity?