New movements in the global life sciences industry

There’s no more exciting industry to be a part of at the moment than life sciences. With new developments taking place in everything from biotech to nutraceuticals, a market that’s expected to reach $1.5trn in value by 2022, and regulatory enhancements that are shaking up the industry, there’s never been a better time to get started in this dynamic, exciting industry. 

At Quanta, we’re seeing the effects of this boom all around the world, with corporate growth driving new CAPEX projects, and investment from Silicon Valley giants transforming the way in which we approach healthcare. With business models evolving and the focus shifting to the consumer, we take a look at the new movements shaking up the global life sciences industry.

Big data takes the lead

Thanks to its far-reaching potential, big data is becoming a mainstay of many industries, and this applies to life sciences too. With the adoption of the Cloud and automated systems, today’s clinical trials and medical devices can gather thousands of times more data on patients and clients than before, and then analyse it to produce incredibly detailed insights and find patterns that might previously have been unidentifiable to researchers and scientists.

Needless to say, these insights could be invaluable when it comes to discovering new breakthroughs- and companies are making the most of this to improve everything from customer feedback to trial design and smarter treatments.

The big companies move in

The importance of collaboration in life sciences cannot be understated, and indeed, the big tech companies are starting to move into the sector. With £7.5bn of inward investment having hit UK markets since 2011, Silicon Valley tech giants like Google, Samsung and Apple are striking deals with biotech companies to create smarter healthcare devices to roll out to patients.

Indeed, Google is already developing its AI software, DeepMind, using it to monitor life threatening conditions for patients in hospitals and alert the relevant doctors immediately. More recently, they partnered with healthcare giant Novartis to create contact lenses for diabetics that can sense glucose and alert the wearer, whilst Apple released the EpiWatch, which allows epilepsy patients to track their health. The future of healthcare seems set to focus on technology- and as demand rises, expect the demand for software engineers to rise alongside it.

Patients move to the forefront

Though the market remains candidate-driven, companies are also starting to make the shift to a more customer-centric outlook. The creation and development of new technologies have allowed pharma companies to create treatments and devices that are tailored to the individual needs of different patients: from ‘smart’ treatments like the app designed to track eye disease, to the AI smartwatch that alerts customers if their glucose levels spike, the customer now has more choice than ever before.

This change isn’t solely down to changing healthcare, however; the spread of technology means that patients can now pick and choose which healthcare providers to use. Today, customer service is key when it comes to attracting new business, and life sciences firms are consequently doing their best to improve theirs.

New markets and deals

It’s not just technology that looks set to cause change in the market, however: pricing and market access are both expected to be big issues throughout 2018. With the rise of new life sciences markets in South America and India come increased uncertainties about trade policies, tax reforms and investments.

The industry is gradually moving towards self-regulation with the introduction of technologies like blockchain, but expect life sciences companies to start putting strategies in to mitigate risk and cope with the shifting marketplace- especially as GDPR, which aims to regulate the way companies use their customer’s data, came into force across the entire EU on 25th May.

Look to the future with Quanta

The life sciences market is changing. From QA remediation to those working within process, the future is bright for this remarkably dynamic industry. Make the most of it by browsing our blog for more insights, or check out our latest life sciences vacancies.