The life sciences industry is nearing a $1.5 trillion milestone, according to an analysis from Frost & Sullivan. The firm’s Global Life Sciences Industry Outlook, 2018 report finds that healthcare digitization and consumerization, the explosion of patient data, and the emergence of value-based reimbursement models are propelling the growth. They cite a convergence of biopharmaceuticals, drug delivery devices, and companion diagnostics—enabled by digital connectivity—as driving regulatory and commercial changes. 

“The scope for synergies among disciplines is attracting big tech companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple (GAFA) to the life sciences industry,” said Unmesh Lal, Program Manager, Transformational Health. “The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based solutions for drug discovery and clinical trial workflow is improving the overall efficiency of production. Additionally, pathology and research laboratories are increasingly adopting health analytics solutions to track the test utilization and efficiently tackle reimbursement issues.”

Frost & Sullivan identify opportunities in the following areas:

• AI and cloud deployment in pharma research and development (R&D)
• Convergence of molecular diagnostics and big data analytics
• Smart genomics
• Biopharma partnerships with contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMO) and contract research organizations (CRO)