Biopharma is
in for a transformational year in 2016. Lawmakers are clamoring for drug price
reform. Patients are protesting for faster FDA approvals. Patents are under
fire from value-seeking hedge funders. And the industry's least-welcome
spokesman is live-streaming the whole thing.
This year,
some of the fundamental pillars of the industry suddenly seem vulnerable. The
rise of biosimilars is poised to cut into pharma's cash reserves, while the
once-reliable demand for biotech IPOs has all but dried up. What makes a drug
approvable is the subject of a newly heated debate, while the financial
wizardry that once made drug companies a sure bet has come under intense
scrutiny.
We've put together
a list of the people in and around biopharma who are poised to play major roles
in the industry's evolution. Some are recent hires hoping to rescue moribund
giants, while others are long-tenured veterans trying to steer their firms into
brighter futures.
Each is
facing a make-or-break 2016 with wide implications for the drug business as a
whole.
Can Ian
Read's Pfizer ($PFE) deliver on its big goals after a
record-breaking merger? How will John Milligan keep Gilead Sciences ($GILD) rolling when its blockbusters plateau?
Can Anne Wojcicki complete 23andMe's turnaround? And will Martin Shkreli stay out of prison long enough to start another company?
As is the case every year, "most influential" does not necessarily mean "most innovative," "most successful" or even "most admirable." Failures often change the landscape more than successes, as a few members of this list can attest. And kicking down doors can be more effective than building consensus.
Can Anne Wojcicki complete 23andMe's turnaround? And will Martin Shkreli stay out of prison long enough to start another company?
As is the case every year, "most influential" does not necessarily mean "most innovative," "most successful" or even "most admirable." Failures often change the landscape more than successes, as a few members of this list can attest. And kicking down doors can be more effective than building consensus.
Here are the
individuals shaping the future of biopharma in 2016, whether through
breakthrough science, back-room dealmaking or outright bullying.