Happy New Year!
For many companies, 2012 was a challenging year. How will 2013 play out? Here are a few ideas we’ve discussed internally as we look forward to 2013:
Innovation versus Revenue – Companies (and their investors) talk a lot
about innovation. And indeed, innovation is important. However, what companies really really want is revenue. It sounds obvious, but it’s not. What this means is that companies will quietly continue to seek alternative, non-traditional Revenue sources in 2013, such as:
- Spin outs/divestments of clinical assets that are no longer of strategic interest
- More participation in the 505(b)(2) market
- A greater portion of a companies product line centered on reformulation, and less on NCEs (i.e., Pfizer)
- More acquisitions focused on revenue instead of innovation
Biosimilars Hype Dies Down – We think a lot of the hype surrounding biosimilars will die down in 2013. That’s not to say that the opportunity and need for biosimilars is not significant. On the contrary, we need biosimilars on the market, especially in the US, as soon as possible. However, 2012 taught us that actually developing and commercializing biosimilars will be limited to a select number of companies. So we believe we’ll see fewer stories in the press regarding biosimilars in 2013 unless the FDA establishes a development and regulatory pathway.
Sales and Marketing Shift – Pharma & biotech companies will continue to reduce their traditional marketing spend in 2013 (fewer reps, less DTC) and shift to digital marketing. However, without social media guidelines from the FDA, companies will continue to walk a fine line. In a related matter, pharma will continue to grow its presence in the mobile marketing area, with more mobile-ready web sites, mobile banner ads, etc.
For other 2013 predictions, we refer you to Adam Feuerstein’s column on biotech stocks, and Alex Butler’s article on digital pharma.
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