Published 13 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2955
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:a2955

Feature

Drug Industry

Radical treatments for difficult times

Andrew Jack, pharmaceuticals correspondent

1 Financial Times, London

Andrew.Jack@ft.com

The economic downturn is only one of many factors forcing the drug industry to rethink its strategy. Andrew Jack reports

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

When AstraZeneca unveiled a programme of factory closures and 1400 job losses across Europe last November,1 some media reported it as yet another extension of the spreading chill of the recent global economic downturn. In fact, the announcement was the result of a decision that had been taken many months before, and with results that are likely to be deeper and longer than those of the crisis related measures seen in other sectors.

In common with other large drug makers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Merck, AstraZeneca is being forced to adapt at an increasing pace to a range of growing pressures. Drug companies’ existing products are under threat from expiring patents and the launch of similar new and generic equivalents; pipelines of experimental treatments to replace them are thin; health systems are making new demands as a condition of reimbursement; and the emerging markets are becoming ever more important.

. . . [Full text of this article]


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