Life sciences: What CEOs in the sector expect from the future

The life sciences sector is very heterogeneous and includes globally active pharmaceutical companies as well as small medtech start-ups and innovative biotech research laboratories. The KPMG 2024 Life Sciences CEO Outlook shows that there are nevertheless common themes and strategies. A total of 120 CEOs from the life sciences sector worldwide were surveyed for this purpose.

The results show: The growth prospects are predominantly seen as positive. Nevertheless, many companies are struggling to accelerate digitalisation and the introduction of AI. Furthermore, CEOs are aware of how important ESG (environmental, social, governance) issues are for public trust and their own growth. At the same time, many in the survey are unsure how they can achieve their net-zero emissions targets. Another pressing uncertainty is the shortage of skilled labour.

• Almost 80 per cent of CEOs are positive about their company's growth prospects.
• For 60 per cent, generative AI has the highest investment priority.
• Less than half of those surveyed believe they will be able to achieve their company's net-zero emissions targets by 2030.
• The biggest challenge in the area of human resources: replacing ageing employees with new skilled workers.

The results presented here are based on the responses of 120 executives from the life sciences sector, including 45 per cent from the pharmaceuticals sector and 19 per cent from the biotech sector. The most represented countries by company headquarters are the USA, Japan, India, China and Germany.

In addition, KPMG publishes an annual cross-industry and cross-market CEO Outlook. In 2024, more than 1,300 CEOs were surveyed for this purpose. Their companies have an annual turnover of more than 500 million US dollars, and a third have a turnover of more than 10 billion US dollars.