For the legions of highly-paid professionals that run today’s biopharmaceutical enterprise, the wild card question of 2017 cuts disturbingly close: are you and your company prepared for a world that no longer trusts the experts? An industry whose growth depends on complex products backed by rigorous science is the key beneficiary of that trust. It’s also true that a generally supportive rules-based regulatory system has enabled drug companies to adapt quickly to market changes, as evidenced by the cost efficiencies made possible by globalization of the drug supply chain.
The year just past has put this expert-led consensus in play. The US and the UK, two nations seen historically...