More US Pharmaceutical Industry Downsizing

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry has taken some pretty severe hits over the past decade, and recent news suggests that it isn’t over yet.

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry has taken some pretty severe hits over the past decade, and recent news suggests that it isn’t over yet. On December 3rd,  GlaxoSmithKline is expected to announce hundreds of job cuts in the United States, including jobs at GSK’s Philadelphia and Research Triangle Park locations.

These latest job cuts are in response to the GSK’s need to reduce expenses by approximately $1.6 billion over the next three years, and becoming “a smaller, more focused organization,” according to a company spokesperson. GSK is responding to declining sales in the third quarter of 2014.

Clearly, the pharmaceutical industry is seeking new ways to do business that improve R&D productivity, create leaner operations and establish a sharper focus on specialty markets. Unfortunately, this translates into difficult times ahead for those working at pharmaceutical companies.

I’m predicting that we’ll see more of the same in 2015, as pharmaceutical companies continue to adapt and transform themselves in response to incredibly challenging market conditions and a new healthcare economy emerging in the United States.

Fortunately, other areas of healthcare are experiencing significant growth, including telemedicine, mHealth, diagnostics and personalized medicine. As these areas continue to grow, we are likely to see jobs migrating from pharma into these market sectors as people seek new opportunities.

For more information on what we believe 2015 will hold for healthcare professionals, download our free Healthcare Marketing Report.