Transformational trends are profoundly impacting the Life Sciences industry. KPMG`s Life Sciences Strategy practice supports pharma, biotech and medtech players to navigate disruptions and achieve long-term sustainable growth.
Advances of personalized medicine, supply chain disruptions, digital transformation, ESG integration and access to financing and talent are but a few examples of the challenges faced by Life Sciences companies.
They are seeking a competitive edge by investing in new modalities and supporting technologies across their entire value chain. To future-proof their operating models, they are establishing new capabilities through M&A and bespoke partnerships, all while striving to outperform through operational transformations.
Located in Switzerland and part of a truly global network, our practice serves Life Science companies across the EMA region and beyond. We are a team of seasoned consultants and experienced professionals with business, medical, scientific, and public health backgrounds shining a unique perspective on our clients’ challenges.
Why KPMG services?
We understand the megatrends affecting the Life Sciences industry
With our profound understanding of the dynamic forces shaping the sector, we do not deliver off-the-shelve solutions, but tailored strategies that anticipate market shifts, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and ensure your organization remains at the forefront of innovation.
Global Life Sciences network
Our global network of pharmaceutical, medtech, and biotech experts with a firm footing in local networks empower startups and large multinationals to tap into local trends and insights capturing tangible opportunities across the globe.
Proven track record in Life Sciences consulting
With a record of successful client projects, we have established ourselves as the trusted partner for navigating the complexities of the life sciences industry. We deliver not only bespoke strategies, but tangible results that have meaningful impact for our clients. From innovative strategies to actionable insights, count on us to elevate your business to new heights of success.
End-to-end strategy support
We offer end-to-end guidance tailored to the unique needs of your life sciences enterprise. Our tailored services cover key strategy domains including enterprise and portfolio, commercial, and operations strategy.
Challenges in the Life Sciences industry
Economic Sustainability
Managing cost pressures: The sector is grappling with escalating cost pressures, from skyrocketing R&D expenditures to the necessity of making treatments financially accessible. Companies are caught in a constant balancing act, needing to reconcile the drive for innovation with economic viability. Inventive approaches to pricing and reimbursement strategies, coupled with demonstrating value to stakeholders, are crucial for the sustainability of healthcare innovations.
Supply Chain Integrity
Fortifying resilience: Recent global events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have underscored the paramount importance of supply chain resilience. Companies need to enhance their supply chain strategies with advanced risk management and diversification of sourcing to safeguard against disruptions. This resilience is foundational for maintaining business continuity and trust in essential healthcare product delivery. The extended timelines for facility construction, drug development, and technology transfers underscore the need for foresight and strategic prioritization when designing manufacturing networks in the life sciences industry.
Customized Healthcare
The evolution of personalization and precision medicine: Personalization and precision medicine are transforming the landscape with patient-centric approaches. The industry faces the intricate challenge of tailoring healthcare to individual genetic and lifestyle factors. This shift demands advanced genomics data analytics and a seamless integration of diverse knowledge, ensuring treatments are precise yet accessible. The complexity of data collection, analysis, and interpretation must be navigated to harness the potential of this innovative approach fully.
Technological Frontiers
Accelerating digitization: Digitization, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital health applications, is revolutionizing the sector. The strategic integration of these technologies into the fabric of R&D, clinical studies, manufacturing, and patient care is paramount. Companies must build robust digital infrastructures that ensure data integrity and security while fostering innovation, enhancing operational efficiencies, and driving medical discoveries.
New Therapeutic Modalities
Navigating the changing landscape through agile innovation: The introduction of groundbreaking therapeutic modalities is reshaping the industry. Companies must demonstrate unmatched agility to integrate these innovations, necessitating adaptive regulatory strategies and flexible manufacturing capabilities. The ability to embrace and scale novel treatments, including drug-device combinations and companion diagnostics, is crucial in addressing rapidly evolving healthcare needs and navigating the complex regulatory landscape.
Strategic Partnerships
Enhancing collaborative dynamics: In the life sciences landscape, the strategic value of partnerships, especially with CDMOs and startups, is undeniable. However, securing CDMO capacity poses a significant challenge due to high demand, complicating scale-up efforts. Moreover, the race to partner with innovative startups is becoming increasingly competitive in its early stages. Successful collaborations hinge on aligning visions and offering more than just financial investment, fostering mutual growth and innovation.
Industry expertise
We utilize our global presence and specialized knowledge to provide fresh insights into emerging trends within the Life Sciences industry. Explore our latest ideas, which include a comprehensive analysis of RNA therapy development, a captivating account of the microbiome industry's rise, and an overview of European Life Sciences deals for 2023 and outlook for 2024.
Stay tuned for upcoming publications and be sure to visit our Industry page for a wealth of valuable content and expert perspectives.
Navigating success across the value chain
We support our clients in realizing their growth ambitions by providing support across the value chain in enterprise, commercial, and operations strategy, in and outside deals.
Enterprise and Portfolio Strategy
Growth & Portfolio Strategy
Discover avenues for sustainable growth and performance enhancement by optimizing portfolio performance and strategically balancing investments.
Licensing & Partnering Strategy
Maximize value and potential by connecting with partners interested in internal projects, while simultaneously identifying external assets for optimal inorganic growth opportunities.
Asset Valuation and Commercial Due Diligence
Determine the true value of a project by assessing its associated risks and synergies, ultimately facilitating more informed decision-making on acquisitions and partnerships.
Commercial Strategy
Go-to-market and Launch Strategy
Determine the most effective approach to capitalize on current healthcare markets, while implementing robust activities to maximize the launch trajectory.
Pricing & Market Access Strategy
Ensure the highest possible pricing and reimbursement opportunities across international markets, ultimately driving greater overall success.
Competitive Intelligence, Market Positioning, & Forecasting
Optimize the competitive positioning of your product by harnessing market events and trends, thereby maximizing your brand's potential and impact.
Operations Strategy
Operating Model
Develop the ideal operating model tailored to your organization's needs, ensuring comprehensive transformation across all functions, from end-to-end.
Innovation & ESG Strategy
Identify and implement cutting-edge business models and technologies to enhance impact and efficiency, whilst becoming an industry leader in Environmental, Social, and Governance initiatives.
Breakthrough Performance Improvement
Achieve dramatic performance improvements that directly impact the bottom line, creating opportunities for future investments and spurring long-term growth and continuous improvement.
Success stories and client cases that define our services
Please find a selection of our latest client work below to learn more about our services and specific client cases that we worked on.
Pharma Growth: Strategic Asset Screening
An international pharmaceutical firm wanted to strengthen its competitive position within their core therapeutic areas by in-licensing new assets.
Through leveraging internal networks, databases, external contacts we performed tailored in-depth continuous asset screening that provided an actionable list of assets for the client’s market. Internal data analytics capabilities were leveraged to partially automate the process and accelerate assets identification.
Revitalizing Profitability: Margin Solutions
A global leader in medical devices was experiencing eroding margins due to challenging market conditions.
Using our proprietary Advanced Segmentation platform and leveraging data analytics, we identified significant structural areas for margin improvement with clear visibility into the true profitability of their product and customer portfolio, resulting into detailed and immediately actionable initiatives.
Pharma Ops: Innovative Transformation
The global technical operations organization in a major pharmaceutical company identified the need for transformation to address the increasingly growing and complex clinical portfolio and a growing need for digitization of their processes.
As such we developed a future-fit operating model with a clear spike in innovation and rapid deployment of innovative manufacturing solutions, based on latest industry insights and tailored to their global footprint.
Revitalizing Profitability: Manufacturing Network
A global leader in biopharmaceuticals was experiencing sustained decrease of profitability due to external factors. They sought to modernize their manufacturing network by identifying breakthrough improvement opportunities that could deliver long-term and sustained value.
We leveraged both external insights and internal baselining to pinpoint needle-moving opportunities and required investments that would future-fit the manufacturing network and enable profitable growth.
Partnering for success: submit your interests & open questions
Are you looking for a partner to realize your strategic growth?
We combine in-depth Life Sciences insights and end-to-end functional expertise, from R&D to Commercial through to Supply Chain.
Our impact-focused strategic support spans from visioning, strategy development and full-fledged deployment, both within or outside a deals context.