Pharma CEO banking on success
The CEO of one of the world's leading pharmaceutical firms has told London Business School that healthcare provision can prosper despite economic uncertainty and public spending cuts.
AstraZeneca chief David Brennan - speaking at the 3rd London Business School Healthcare Conference - said the future of healthcare faced "an unprecedented time of change and challenge".
Mr Brennan explained that utilising advances in medical technology will be at the forefront of the London-based firm's business plan.
He said: "There is good news to be found. Technology is offering us new ways of delivering care that could make a dramatic difference to outcomes. Globalisation is making people richer and ultimately healthier. And businesses, regulators and NGOs are increasingly working together collaboratively - with some really encouraging results.
"Perhaps one of the most dramatic trends we have seen in recent years is the emergence of a truly global market with a rapidly expanding patient base. The world's population has more than doubled in the last 50 years to nearly seven billion and is on course to reach nine billion by 2050.
"We see that as demand for healthcare continues to grow, the type of healthcare required in these markets will also change.
"I am convinced that innovation will be the fundamental driver of our ability to meet these needs. That innovation will come from traditional R&D; from scientific developments such as personalised medicine or predictive science; and it will also come from the application of IT and mobile technology to health related uses."
If personalised medicine offers one route for innovation, the combination of developments in IT and mobile communications offers further avenues to explore, Mr Brennan added.
"We have already seen how technology can drive changes in consumer behaviour and disrupt traditional business models in other sectors," he said.
"There is clearly a real appetite amongst patients, and healthcare professionals, for more information and more opportunities to communicate with providers."