Pharma Trends & Trust

Every year in June, Pharmaceutical Executive^® shares what we call our Pharma 50, which details the top 50 global biopharma companies based on the latest full-year prescription drug sales. The data for the new list was again provided in partnership by Evaluate Ltd. Michael Christel, group managing editor, dives into market trends around topics related to commercial data, emerging treatment markets, as well as outlooks for the future.

There are a few notable shifts in the top 10 and top 20 rankings—as well as a few new entrants to the overall ledger. Also explored are the multitude of factors likely to reshape the rankings in the coming years, including the impact of M&As, legislation, patent expiries, etc. This is an article you won’t want to miss.

In an accompanying story, experts from WittKieffer discuss the efforts companies are—and are not—making to engender the public’s trust. While most companies say they value the trust of the public (and their employees), not everyone is making the same efforts (or not all organizations are making effective changes). For those making strides to prioritize trust, a few of the tactics that have proven successful include starting new roles, forming committees, leading with purpose, and having increased transparency.

This month, I personally had the pleasure of speaking with Jag Dosanjh, president of US neuroscience and eye care for AbbVie and Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s (HBA’s) 2023 honorable mentor of the year. Dosanjh shared with me in an interview how he values listening. One of my favorite quotes is: “If you can listen well, you can learn well.” This had me thinking of the WittKieffer story and how, in order to understand the values of others (which is imperative to know in order to ethically gain their trust), you must first listen.

Another topic of relevance lately is—you guessed it—artificial intelligence (AI). I don’t know about you all, but I’ve read my fair share of content on AI lately. But Sharlene Jenner, vice president of engagement strategy for AbelsonTaylor, provides a unique spin on the subject, diving into the potential impact of AI on pharma marketing. The article wasn’t just, “Here is how AI is amazing and will change pharma for the better,” but it provided both potential pros of this technology along with some cautionary points as to the potential impacts of AI, especially when it comes to leveraging data.

I also found it interesting—and more than mildly alarming—how the author noted the use of AI could lead to fake news articles. As ever, we as readers must be hypervigilant. And those of us in the pharma industry must be equally hypervigilant to ensure quality when implementing new technology.

There are, of course, many other incredible stories and columns in this issue. Please give them a read and let me know at pharmexec@mjhlifesciences.com if there are topics you really enjoyed or additional topics that you’d like to see us cover.