Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008 - (Page 5)

Editor’s comment Hard times e are in the midst of a credit crunch. It is affecting the whole of Europe and it is hitting hard! With petrol prices going through the roof, we have seen lorry drivers in a number of countries, including Spain and the UK, bringing places to a stand-still and resulting in enormous loses to the respective national economies. Inevitably, house prices are falling, the cost of mortgages is raising, perishables and other everyday consumables are verging on unaffordable for many families, and inflation is well above its predicted target. This is the gloomy picture throughout the continent and it is forecast to get worse. So how has the credit crunch affected me or, more importantly, how will it affect the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries in the short and long term? Besides coping with the impact of industry-specific and, to an extent, expected factors, such as revenue erosion caused by the entry of generic pharmaceuticals into the market or changes in regulatory issues, the sector will indirectly, but inevitably, be affected by the current economic situation. The first and most obvious sector to suffer will be the supply chain and, consequently, the price of manufacturing. It is unavoidable: petrol prices go up meaning that adjustments to retail prices or profit margins will have to be made. W Thomas Northcut/Getty Images However, there are more fundamental and critical areas of the industry where activities and performance will be severely affected. According to a number of economists, it is only natural that banks and lending societies will tighten their borrowing standards. As a consequence, those individuals and businesses borrowing will have less cash available to invest or spend, a situation that will have a rippling effect across virtually every industry. There is no denying that the pharma and biopharma industries will have to endure this as best they can. Not only they will experience trouble attracting funds in what is left of 2008, but it will become increasingly difficult for them to support and finance their own projects. Long term, if this crunch continues, catastrophe awaits: the pipelines of the pharma and biopharma industries will be starved of innovations. And this is a highrisk situation with potentially devastating effects that nobody wants to see realized. Least of all us. www.ptemagazine.com 5 http://www.ptemagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008

Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008 Contents Industry Highlights Morpheus Market Watch Overcoming the Barriers The Tide of Change Eight Steps to Improved Water Efficiency Q&A

Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008

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