Weathering the Storm in Europe

Executive Summary

European policymakers' aggressive cost-containment measures and greater intervention in patient treatment could put 25% of the pharmaceutical industry's sales in Europe at risk, according to McKinsey & Co. Most of the 12 major drug firms in the consultants' outside-in research underestimate the potential impact of the reforms and their ability to do anything about them. Yet it's possible to weather the storm, McKinsey says. Doing so may involve changing European operating models and cost structures, reshaping portfolios, building new market access methods and interacting with multiplying decision-makers. It will also mean fundamentally rethinking resource allocation for Europe.