Strategic trends of pharmaceutical companies: A growth model through regional focus and inter-regional alliances

• Published in: Drug discovery today Vol. 28; no. 7; p. 103611
• Main Authors: Nakashima, Akinori, Kodama, Kota, Sengoku, Shintaro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2023
• Subjects: pharmaceutical company; regional strategy; research and development; therapeutic area strategy; research and development; regional strategy; pharmaceutical company; therapeutic area strategy
• ISSN: 1359-6446; 1878-5832
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103611

•The selection and focus on regions and therapeutic areas.•Large companies achieved higher performance due to their regional focus.•Small/mid-sized companies achieved higher performance due to therapeutic area focus.•A key strategic point for large companies is to define their geographical focus.
Pharmaceutical companies face challenges in business continuity resulting from declining research and development productivity. This study examines the relationship between two strategic pillars: region and therapeutic area, while considering company size. The results indicate that a therapeutic area focus is an effective strategy for small/medium-sized companies, whereas a regional focus is effective for larger companies. These findings highlight the limitations of the traditional global pharmaceutical model from 2004 to 2018 and aim to contribute to the future corporate strategic planning of these companies.