Preparing Your Life Sciences Company for 2025

The 43rd Annual Healthcare Conference took place, January 13-16, 2025, in San Francisco, CA. This premier conference is one of the largest and health care investment symposia in the industry connecting global industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators and members of the investment community.

We sat down with Xavier Duburcq, Chairman & CEO, ProductLifeGroup, to assess his key takeaways from the prestigious conference and how sponsor companies could prepare for 2025.

Q: After attending JP Morgan’s Healthcare Conference, what is your outlook for sponsor companies in 2025?
A: I am cautiously optimistic about 2025. While the flow of funding has not fully resumed, activities and investments are picking up. Most investors agree that with the right strategy, the right asset, and the right leadership, companies can attract attention, secure funding, and grow market share.

Q: You mention cautious optimism. What factors contribute to this perspective?
A:

1. Policy Changes in the U.S.: Several CEOs and investors cite the new federal administration recently elected in the United States is contributing to a feeling of uncertainty. In their perspective, the previous administration introduced the Inflation Reduction Act, which they cited as being only partially implemented and poorly understood. With the possibility of legislative changes, U.S. based leaders shared even if there is a rollback of prior policies, the affordability of pharmaceuticals and investment in R&D will remain priorities. Our regulatory experts based in our North American companies are well positioned to provide guidance as new regulatory leaders emerge and policies evolve.
2. Advancements in Digital and AI: Digital transformation and artificial intelligence are no longer optional; they are critical. It’s no longer if, it’s how. Companies must embrace these tools to reduce high development costs. The focus now is on creating shared standards and governance to fully leverage these advancements.
3. Innovation in Asia: There’s significant growth in biotechnology in regions like Asia, particularly China, which is driving market innovation. China is eager to invest and has tremendous potential to provide funding and innovation. This was evident in the positioning of the agenda where an entire day was dedicated to the topic of how-to best partner with China.

Q: What advice are you giving your teams to help clients navigate 2025?
A: Our top priority for clients—whether in Europe, North America, or Asia/Pacific—is to help reduce time-to-market by ensuring drugs and devices are affordable and accessible globally. Launching in a single market is no longer sufficient. COVID-19 underscored the importance of global accessibility, even as companies navigate local regulatory requirements.

We combine price, strategy, and clinical and regulatory consulting expertise to deliver the best outcomes. Our global reach paired with local expertise ensures pre-market pathways are error-free, and post-market processes maintain exacting standards in compliance, quality, and lifecycle management.

Q: What advice do you have for sponsor companies unsure of their next steps?
A: The biggest challenge in drug and device development is partnering effectively with regulatory authorities to avoid wasting resources in the early stages of clinical development. Our focus is on guiding sponsor companies through this process efficiently by deploying the right resources at the right time.

Dually present at this year’s co-located conference, Biotech Showcase, were PLG companies, Halloran Consulting Group and Commercial Eyes. To learn more about the global services available to meet your needs, contact us at hallorancg.com or by emailing info@hallorancg.com

About ProductLifeGroup

PLG has an established global presence in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Africa, specializing in helping international life sciences organizations to get their products and therapies to market more effectively by providing those partners with functional support across all of the regulated stages of the product life cycle—from development to launch and post marketing.

About Commercial Eyes

Commercial Eyes is a leading healthcare and life sciences consulting firm, specializing in pre and post registration commercialization services, comprising amongst others Market and Patient Access, Regulatory and Product Development, Quality and Compliance, Patient Safety & Risk Management (PS),Medical Information (MI) and Sponsorship Services. Commercial Eyes is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with a strong presence in New Zealand and supporting clients in the broader JAPAC region.  The company is known as one of the largest providers of commercialization services to the Pharma and MedTech sector delivering high quality, customer-focused results in the regulated therapeutics and healthcare industry for over 23 years. With an experienced team of over 100 consultants, the company has supported more than 900 clients representing the full spectrum of health technology companies from emerging biopharma/biotech and small to medium enterprises to global multinationals.

For more information, visit https://commercialeyes.com.au/