The last decade has seen some major changes in the way the pharmaceutical industry is structured and the factors that affect its profitability. Growth has slowed down in traditional markets while “pharmerging” markets such as India and China have shown rapid growth. The effectiveness of R&D is being questioned as there have been fewer new therapies approved for market while the cost of doing research has increased. At the same time there are new technologies in the horizon that show remarkable potential but need years of investment before any meaningful returns can be expected. The industry has responded by engaging in mergers and acquisitions and consolidation on the one hand and proliferation of a number of R&D focused “start-ups” on the other. This lecture describes some of the major causes of these changes and identifies the changing role of India and China in this transformation. It goes on to argue that the traditional role of being a generics manufacturer and a provider of “active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)” is changing in both these countries with innovations playing an increasingly important role. There is an opportunity here for both India and China that can be squandered if proper incentives are not provided.

Falguni Sen is the Director of the Global Healthcare Innovation Management Center at Fordham University’s Schools of Business where he focuses on how innovations happening globally can benefit many countries in reducing the cost of healthcare and in increasing access. He is also Professor of Strategy and Chair of the Strategy and Statistics area at Fordham’s Business School and specializes in the strategic management of science, technology and innovations. He has received many teaching awards and has researched and consulted with many corporations in U.S., China, India, Switzerland and Ireland. He also has worked with governments on Science and Technology Policy.

Introduction and moderation of the Q&A by Xiaogang Wu, Visiting Professor of Sociology at NYU Shanghai, Professor of Social Science and Director of the Center for Applied Social and Economic Research (CASER) at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.