Pharmaceuticals & life sciences

PwC’s global network of pharmaceutical, biotech and medtech experts works with you to define and deliver effective solutions to the complex challenges affecting your business in all areas from innovation to regulation and patient engagement.

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How we can help

PwC's pharmaceuticals and life sciences practice helps pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients develop future focused business strategies and to implement the time critical programmes and procedures essential to success within worldwide regulatory frameworks.

How PwC can help

The environment in which Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences companies operate is increasingly challenging, being driven by a more and more demanding healthcare agenda. The global need for innovative, cost effective medicines continues to rise whilst regulators, payers, health care providers and patients are demanding greater value for money, proven effectiveness of products, more transparency and access to information. To meet these demands companies are seeking ways to improve R&D productivity, increase the efficiency of its operations, rationalise spending on sales and marketing and enhance financial performance.

Working closely with our clients, ranging from small entrepreneurial life science companies to large global corporations, we aim to achieve increased performance by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a company’s key business operations.

Across the whole Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences value chain, PwC's trusted consultants and professional advisors use their wealth of industry based experience, knowledge and expertise to help our clients evaluate their strategic business options, improve management and control, and identify cost saving initiatives.

Manufacturing

A combination of regulatory, market, scientific, and technological forces is likely to mean that pharmaceutical manufacturing will undergo rapid change in the next five to ten years. Many companies are already investing in change projects, but they are often piecemeal and not accompanied by a clear manufacturing vision. The absence of such a vision also means that companies sometimes feel caught between ‘big leap’ and more incremental changes. In fact, incremental change is vital to achieve a longer term 'big leap.' But, in the absence of a manufacturing vision, companies find themselves with no roadmap. The consequence is that changes are made in relative isolation without maximising their potential incremental contribution to longer term improvement or, worse, moving the company further away from the manufacturing it will need in the future. There is a need for companies to more consistently align investment in IT and manufacturing with their vision of the manufacturing that will be needed in the future. In doing so, companies will be able to ensure that investments don't just deliver specific gains, but also help accelerate the company's progress toward longer term goals. We can help companies achieve the change required and their goals by utilising our firm's in-depth industry expertise.

Supply chain & distribution

Today companies are concerned about the cost and efficiency of their supply chain. Increasingly pharmaceutical companies are seeking to outsource manufacturing and distribution to countries like China and India. However for the newer technologies such as biologics this may not be possible due to the complexity of the manufacturing and delivery processes. We work with our clients to help them identify options at an early stage of the business and product planning process. We work with them to understand the potential risks, find solutions and identify the appropriate overseas partners to help them reduce costs or gain entry in to new markets.

Commercial operations

In the current environment of poor product pipelines and broader customer bases, the traditional sales and marketing model of driving revenue with ever larger sales forces is no longer sustainable. Rather organisations will evolve to become more efficient and deliver differentiated effective messages tailored the specific needs of diverse customer segments including patients, insurers, government and physicians, and the changes on product mix. PwC can work with you in targeting sales and marketing resources accordingly to the customer needs and the relevant regulations (compliance), avoiding components that are not helping to maximise the return on invesment; improving the division of roles between the headquarters and local maketing companies with redefinition of planning and communication systems that work effectively between global, regional and marketing affiliates.

Corporate & financial strategy

Companies are addressing important questions about existing and future revenue generation, and how to align operational and financial tactics to enable their chosen corporate strategy. We are working with our clients to explore strategic options and begin the process today of restructuring their business for tomorrow. We help to identify those areas with the most realistic potential and devise and review pragmatic business plans that maximise value. We know the difficult decisions and trade-offs that executives face when managing their businesses, allocating resources or contemplating deals. We know the traps of large and small company cultures.Mergers, acquisitions and licensing are vital enablers to corporate strategy. Most companies will use some form of equity or debt finance to fund future plans, Life Science companies often use private equity or an initial public offering (IPO). Whatever the new venture, buying at the price, integrating the different elements, and ensuring tax efficiencies through out is key to ensure maximum value. We help to develop a corporate finance strategy, which will appropriately raise and structure the finance needed to support operational changes, and the future strategy of the company.

Information Technology

Together with our clients, we use a combination of industry and technology expertise to develop process improvements that assist you in getting value from technology investments, We bring knowledge in IT strategy, IT architecture and design, enterprise applications, sourcing, project management and IT operations management as well as experience of our professional advisors who have worked within R&D, Supply chain and manufacturing within the industry.

Regulatory & compliance environment

The Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences industries are among the most heavily regulated industries in the world. The regulatory environment is continuously changing in response to the effects of globalisation and harmonisation, emerging markets, increasing complexity of disease targets, introduction of new technologies and the rising sophistication and demands of both patients and regulators.

Yet adherence to regulatory requirements is vital to both a company's and the industry's reputation. Keeping pace with changing regulation requires good processes and procedures which ensure adherence and enable effective global, national and local management. We work with our clients to audit and develop management systems which enable greater transparency across the firm, inform the development of new approaches to a broad range of regulatory compliance, risk management procedures and help improve performance.

Research & development

We work closely with our clients to help formulate a new strategy for success and achieve increased performance by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the company’s R&D operations. Our advisors have a wealth of industry based R&D experience and expertise with a deep understanding of finance, tax, risk management/compliance, IT systems, operations and human resources, we help our clients evaluate their R&D Strategy & Portfolio Management, improve management and control, and identify cost saving initiatives.

Contact us

Anthony Bruce

Global Health Industries Leader, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7213 4524

Peter Kartscher

Global Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Assurance Leader, PwC Switzerland

Tel: +41 79 5429018

Charlotte Richardson

Global Health Industries Tax Leader, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)7793 580784

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