Merck Announces Survey Results Exploring Biopharma Industry’s Evolving Risk Model

• Study highlights biopharma industry’s current and future growth drivers
• New approaches for mitigating risk associated with new growth strategies

Darmstadt, Germany, June 7, 2016 — Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced survey results of 250 global biopharmaceutical executives on how their companies will manage new risks associated with the changing biopharma landscape. The survey, sponsored by Merck, was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis. Findings will be presented on June 8 at the 2016 BIO International Convention in San Francisco, California.

“In response to the uncertainty and disruption facing the biopharmaceutical industry, MilliporeSigma has moved beyond old risk-management models and has adopted and is applying new strategies at the earliest stages of development and seeing them through to commercialization,” said Udit Batra, Member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science.

Study highlights include:

• 48 percent of respondents are developing or will develop novel therapies, such as gene and cell therapies
• Biopharmas anticipate entering South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan in the next five years
• Regulatory uncertainty tops the list of risks that biopharma executives think might disrupt their company’s strategy in the next five years (32 percent)
• 80 percent of respondents are highly optimistic about their company’s ability to bring new drug products to market over the next five years

Manufacturers in the biopharma industry face unprecedented challenges as they enter unfamiliar geographies, aggressively replenish pipelines and expand into novel areas such as gene and cell therapies requiring more complex development and production. The EIU study, detailed in The Changing Biopharma Risk Equation, examines how new growth strategies are creating exposure to different types of risk and explores options for successfully navigating this unexplored territory.

Survey respondents offered a global view with 31 percent from Europe, 30 percent from North America, 29 percent from Asia and 10 percent from the rest of the world. Responses also reflect the differences in view depending on company size, with 50 percent of participants coming from biopharmas with less than $500 million in revenues and 50 percent from larger players.

To download the report, access additional content on the changing nature of biopharma and explore how Merck can help companies go beyond the changes and challenges facing the industry, visit www.gobeyondbiopharma.com.  

About Merck
Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life – from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2015, Merck generated sales of €12.85 billion in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.