Trends and challenges in the Pharma and Life Science Industry

“It is no longer just about financial incentives but also about wider social impact,” adds Schellion Horn, Partner at Grant Thornton UK. Bhanu Prakash Kalmath S J, Partner at Grant Thornton Bharat in India, says many businesses are looking to implement more employee focussed practices and retention strategies, such as long-term incentive schemes. Without the right people in place, companies will find it difficult to reach their full potential. This is a significant concern, given the sector’s intention to grow the workforce this year. These are the five stand-out trends to watch in life sciences in 2022, and what decision-makers should be doing to stay ahead. Our experts agree that the heady pace of change will continue into 2022, and once again test the mettle of the industry.

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General Disclaimer This document is not intended to address any specific situation or to provide legal, regulatory, financial, or other advice. Organizations that embrace innovation, leverage analytics and adopt advanced risk transfer strategies are best positioned to protect their investments and unlock new opportunities. The biggest risk facing life sciences organizations today is no longer disruption itself, but underestimating how interconnected supply chains, data and regulatory landscapes have become. Once established, these models can be adapted to evaluate scenarios challenges in life sciences industry such as cyber threats and other nonphysical risks to inform continuity plans and risk financing.

A single source of truth for data-driven decisions

“Given inflationary pressures and uncertainty over input costs, we are advising companies to build flexibility into contracts,” says Shellion. Because of the uncertain outlook for inflation, companies need to be able to respond quickly when circumstances change. Despite these concerns, the IBR survey suggests that profit growth expectations remain strong. “Our State of Work research found that 55% of employees think their total reward programme is no different to what is available elsewhere.

Changes to drug pricing and reimbursement rules in major markets have also had a significant impact. Companies must navigate differing regulatory standards and timelines, which can delay market access and increase operational complexity. Section 232 tariffs and EU initiatives to secure critical medicines are reshaping supply strategies and introducing new uncertainties. Supply chain failures often intersect with other top risks, such as business interruption, regulatory change and geopolitical volatility, amplifying their impact. COVID-19-related shortages of APIs and sterile injectables led to widespread disruptions, affecting product availability, patient outcomes and company revenues. Regulatory requirements and the need for highly specialized talent make relocation or diversification a long and costly process — often taking five years or more — which further constrains flexibility.

These approaches unlock new sources of capital, enhance liquidity and improve capital efficiency, particularly in areas such as clinical trial risk, product recall and regulatory delay. Resilient life sciences organizations are leveraging advanced analytics and modeling to quantify their total cost of risk and uncover hidden exposures across supply chains, R&D portfolios and regulatory dependencies. Resilient life sciences organizations are taking a more integrated and forward-looking approach to risk — one that connects analytics, financing and strategy. For now, the most significant impacts of AI are being seen in operational efficiency, with the potential for greater transformation in R&D over the longer term. This technological maturity, combined with robust frameworks for safety, compliance and ethics, means that AI is not considered a top 10 current or future risk for the industry. This has prompted many organizations to consolidate, streamline operations and focus R&D resources on core therapeutic areas.

Looking Ahead: Building a Sustainable Talent Ecosystem

Financial exposure is estimated by analyzing lost revenue, mitigation costs and disruption duration. In this way, risk management becomes not just an operational necessity but a lever for growth, efficiency and strategic advantage. By aligning risk financing with business objectives and embedding risk into capital decisions, boards gain the confidence to fund innovation and expansion — even in uncertain markets.

• “When organizations do not meet these requirements, they face increased risks of legal consequences, financial penalties, reputation damage, and other negative impacts,” Dominguez said.
• Despite that, there are significant financial challenges facing the success of the current high-risk, high-cost R&D model.
• The new approach aims to increase flexibility, streamline manufacturing processes, and enhance real-time tracking.
• “An organization can minimize this risk by staying informed about relevant regulations, implementing a robust compliance program, conducting regular audits, establishing proactive measures, and fostering a culture of compliance and strong commitment within the company.”
• Inequities in the health system including unconscious bias, a lack of trust, language barriers, impediments to preventative therapies and devices developed to change lives from reaching people who really need them.
• By adopting the right strategies and capabilities, life sciences companies can continue to deliver value to patients, health care providers and other stakeholders.

Investment in technology is seen as key to increasing efficiency in production and supply chains, helping to offset inflationary pressures. “We can advise on ESG disclosures and help pick the appropriate metrics and systems to measure progress towards targets.” “They have a vague sense of the reporting requirements that are being introduced but, for the most part, they haven’t defined their metrics.” “Agreements should reflect the current uncertainties around prices, which are likely to continue on an upward trend for some time yet.”

This shift reflects the significant time, investment and complexity required to bring new therapies to market. This helps avoid costly late-stage failures and ensures alignment with shifting regulatory and reimbursement landscapes. Patent expirations and the underperformance of newly launched therapies — particularly in areas such as gene therapy and Alzheimer’s — have placed significant strain on R&D investment.