The 5 Trends Transforming The Pharmaceutical Industry And How To Get Ahead Of Them

Although the pharmaceutical market is approaching $1.2 trillion in 2025, many are looking at the next five years as a transformational time for the sector. Despite a strong rate of growth, dissenting opinions point to 2024’s lagging shareholder returns as a sign that the market is already shifting, impacted from everything from increasing competition, pressure to lower drug prices and the impact of AI in research and development.

Are they right in their concerns? Or are these transformative trends reshaping the industry hiding greater opportunities for those who can adapt and join the changing landscape?

The trends

The essential data you need to know about the way this industry is trending can all be seen in our infographic.

Speed of innovation has been the biggest challenge for pharmaceutical companies, who have to keep up with shorter product life cycles for disease treatments. FDA approval of the new molecular entities with the same MoA as an existing one dropped from eight years in the ‘90s to less than a year by 2020. Improved product variations are hitting the markets sooner, which forces companies to be more reactive, better planned and more streamlined in their logistics.

The lagging, slow response from larger firms has led a decline in leader’s market share from 90% to 70% - a challenging sight for investors in traditionally stable pharma firms, but a boost for new, faster, smaller firms with huge growth potential.

However, those firms lack the investment backing to balance this rapid pace with the increase in drug development costs, which by 2024 had reached an average of $2.2 billion, with the higher end of the range sitting at over $5.5 billion per asset. This is a huge jump from the $1.3 billion average just 10 years before.

So, higher commercial risk from new drug development plus a shorter window to market the product before the next innovation takes over? It’s easy to see why some are getting concerned about the state of the pharmaceutical market in 2025. And looking forward five years, there’s an added concern of an upcoming patent cliff with $360 billion of product set to lose their exclusivity.

Is it the start of the end for the rise of big pharma?

The five big changes coming to pharma

Every threat is just an opportunity in disguise, so for all the concern about the pharmaceutical market, those who embrace these five changes will stand to see a different, but very rewarding prospect.

• AI-led potential

Aiding in research and development, Gen AI tools can mitigate risk through faster, more accurate calculations and predictions of the results of new drugs. While this is only going to increase the speed of innovation further, it can benefit by solving much of the cost problem that comes into development and testing.

Increased use of AI to solve the logistic challenges of getting a drug to market, as well as making faster and more accurate decisions can also result in huge potential for new and improved products to reach patients faster.

• Data and AI in human biology

The expansion of big data has impacted the way every industry operates, and pharma is no exception. Improvements in computing power and AI tools, combined with increased research and available data on human biology is delivering better understanding of the human body – from analysis of new and existing diseases, to development of new treatment paths and potential risks and rewards of medicines and medtech.

As above, the usage of this data can speed through development and reduce the need for extensive testing, as data can be collated from multiple global sources and tested remotely for faster rollout of new products.

• Government intervention

The push for lower drug prices has been an ongoing challenge between governments and pharmaceutical firms, with the former often trying to force the latter to cut into profits to cut their product costs.

But two-way conversations can result in benefits on both sides, with many government entities looking at mechanisms to reduce costs of raw materials and improved commercial strategies. This is one area that’s harder to see a solution for – but forward thinking businesses are looking at ways to work with government pressure instead of being hamstrung by it.

• Consumer awareness

Health is big business and people are growing more concerned and more aware of health benefits, seeking a higher quality of later life. The rise of awareness of biometric markers, wearable devices and recording of genetic history is pushing people to seek more health-ready solutions and invest more into higher value products, creating great opportunities for pharmaceutical businesses tapped into delivering positive, impactful solutions.

• Global policy changes

Uncertain global events create a reliance on companies that can deliver the essentials, putting greater value on speeding up supply chains, improving R&D and increasing deployment of new products.

With the Covid pandemic in the rear view window, and geopolitical unrest building ongoing concerns, the pharmaceutical industry is seen as essential, safe and prime for investment, as we get ready for the next unpredictable event. Those that can promise stability and quality can benefit from that investment to drive new product demand.

What will 2030 look like for the pharmaceutical market?

The world is moving too fast and too unpredictably to say for sure what will happen in the next year, let alone the next five. But by the end of the decade we can take a reasonably strong guess that the market will be different again from where it is now, just as it’s changed dramatically in the last five years.

Those looking to go back to traditional solutions are likely to be left behind, but those who embrace and adapt to changing trends will benefit – with Statista predicting a an annual growth rate of 4.73% resulting in a market value of $1.53 trillion by 2030.

What does this mean for those working in the industry?

Those with hybrid skillsets, who can combine scientific knowledge with regulatory, commercial and data strategy experience will thrive by balancing the necessary development with speed in delivery.

Cross functional program leads, modality experts, regulatory accelerators and commercial operators will be in high demand, with smaller firms racing to take advantage of faster product rollouts.

Most importantly, this transformational period will put more focus on the need for talent as a core strategic asset to those businesses who can capitalise on a changing world to convert scientific breakthroughs to sustainable commercial success.

For those looking to optimise that, partnership with a specialist pharmaceutical and life sciences staffing firm like Amoria Bond can be the ultimate benefit. Our teams not only find the right people quickly from a global network of over 900,000 experts, we work with your existing teams to understand your growth strategy and target the skillsets that will drive higher performance in the changing market.

Our recruitment specialists can produce a tailored plan for mapping the cross-functional expertise you can expect to find, and will benefit from to achieve your goals and deliver better pharmaceutical products to the people who need them the most.

Get in touch with our life science recruitment teams today to learn more about how we can help you.