Emerging markets gain ground in life sciences innovation

Health

Emerging markets gain ground in life sciences innovation

October 27, 2015

Global

  • examines three decades of emerging market R&D in life sciences, identifying winning strategies and opportunities for newcomers
  • Medical technology and health informatics are both ripe for emerging market R&D, due to low barriers to entry, viable participation for smaller companies, and future needs
  • Disruptive innovation is the biggest challenge for emerging markets, due to limited international R&D collaboration and constrained publicly-funded research, the report argues
  • Report includes —an infographic device for understanding life sciences innovation

DNA sequencing, low cost heart surgery and ‘med-tech’ are among the life sciences sectors where emerging markets are finding their niche, according to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

, commissioned by Dubai Science Park, reviews three decades of emerging markets R&D to identify winning strategies taken by a diverse group of countries, from China and Brazil to Costa Rica. It distils lessons from their experiences and identifies niches for emerging markets life sciences R&D today.

The report argues that emerging markets can enter the life sciences industry despite the challenges of the sector. ‘Incremental innovation’ has borne fruit in India through ‘super generics’, for instance, while China has become a world leader in health informatics like DNA sequencing more broadly. Smaller nations have prospered by focusing on medical technology exports, where barriers to entry are lower. 

The ‘top’ of the innovation ladder—radical, disruptive innovation—is the biggest challenge for emerging markets. The report argues that one constraint is a low rate of international R&D collaboration compared with North America and Europe. Strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and contract outsourcing are growing in popularity, but tend to involve the lower end of the R&D value chain. Secondly, publicly funded basic research is constrained in emerging markets in general. Countries with sufficient fiscal resources should look to the powerful impact of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) historically to see the innovation benefits than spin out of publicly-funded basic research. 

Adam Green, the editor of the report, said:
“Innovation is a catch-all word that is used to explain diverse activities, from a minor tweak that makes a medicine safer, through to an entirely new way of seeing the world. This project was an attempt to add clarity to the concept of innovation in all its forms, and from there, to explore how emerging markets fit into that typology.

“The good news is that emerging markets have acquired strong R&D capabilities in a tough sector over a fairly short period. But this does not come easily. It requires the interplay of many factors: policy interventions, public funding, strong education systems, business reforms, and luck. While not all strategies used by the current leaders are viable today, the principles and approaches are of value to governments and companies in emerging markets who want to enter this difficult but rewarding field.”

 

 

Press enquiries:
Mathew Hanratty, corporate communications manager, London
+44 (0)20 7576 8546

 
Adam Green, senior editor, EMEA Thought Leadership, Dubai
M: +971 (0) 55221 5208

 

Notes to editors

About this report
Innovation in life sciences is a report and infographic project based on desk research and in-depth interviews carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit with experts at the Beijing Genomics Institute, Lupin, Bain, the University of Pennsylvania, London Business School, Jones Lang Lasalle, Sun Pharmaceuticals and the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency, amongst others. It was commissioned by Dubai Science Park.

About The Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world leader in global business intelligence. It is the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. The Economist Intelligence Unit helps executives make better decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies. More information can be found at or .

About Dubai Science Park
Dubai Science Park (DSP) is the region’s first free zone community that serves the value chain of the science sector, including science entrepreneurs, SMEs and multinational enterprises. Formerly known as DuBiotech and Enpark, it is home to over 280 science companies from across the value chain. 

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