Epidemic Response to COVID-19 in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Industries Series Issue 2
Impact of COVID-19 on the health industry and how certain sectors will cope and use it as an impetus for change
The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused enormous challenges to China's economy and people's lives. With the epidemic on the rise, society has paid more attention to the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, which will impose both positive and negative consequences across different sub- sectors. In the short term, there will be a variety of impacts on pharma companies, healthcare institutions, pharmaceutical distribution and retail, and health insurance (Fig.1). In the medium to long-term, the impact on the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are relatively positive: Societal awareness for disease control, prevention and healthcare will be enhanced;
he Government will drive the development of hierarchical medical systems, strengthening the competence of community medical institutions; The value of development and commercialization of medicine, vaccines and medical devices by the capitalmarketswill beenhanced
Digitalization of the industry such as internet hospitals will speed up;
The demand for private health insurance will increase, currently dominated by state social benefits
Focusing firstly just on the pharmaceutical industry, this public health emergency may push the process of medical reform of the "tripartite" of healthcare, medical insurance and medicine, where players in the industry will face new challenges and opportunities. Framing these impacts against the pharmaceutical industry value chain together with our experience, PwC has identified three significant trends and has proposed the strategic problems which enterprise leadership should focus.
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Fig.1 Impact analysis of COVID-19 on different sectors of pharmaceutical industries
Positive Impacts
Negative Impacts
: Sales decrease for Chronic disease drugs in hospitals : Limitations on academic promotions for innovative drugs and those newly admitted to the NRDL . Obstruction of recruitment for Clinical research might affect new drug launch
Growing demand for drugs for coronavirus prevention and treatment : More attention for vaccine development
Pharma Companies
: Fast development of Internet of Medical Things : Acceleration of hierarchical medical systems leveraging community medical institutions : Third-party Medical Image and Testing Centers to alleviate resource shortage in medical institutions
: Patients seeking non-emergency or elective treatments decrease due to the coronavirus
Medical Institutions
: Traffic interruption affects daily operations for pharma distribution and retail companies . Consumers in offline pharmacies decrease to avoid cross-infection
Favorable for Online Pharmacies : Convenient apps to search or deliver drugs with significantly increasing users
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Pharmaceutical
Distribution and Retail
: Public's growing demand for commercial health insurance
EB
Health Insurance
Trend One: With the drive of Government policy and advantaged resources, China drug innovation will become more globalized
high quality life science journals, signaling that China has stepped up into the world's top ranks. Finally, national major special funds and the Sci-Tech Innovation ("STAR") Board have provided capital backing and financial support for drug innovation
2015 was a milestone year in which the State Council issued "Opinions on the Reform of Review and Approval Proces