How does the pharmaceutical market been affected by the Coronavirus emergency? According to data provided by Federfarma, the pharmaceutical supply chain experienced a 24% increase in exports already in the first quarter. A fundamental role in this increase is played by Southern Italy, which has given a turnaround to the sector.
COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry, but not as expected, based on economic trends. Exports increased by more than 24% on an annual basis for Italy, with a driving force of 14.9% coming from the South – 23.7% incrased has been registered only from Campania region. In short, while the total economy at a national level fell by 1.9%, in the south the push gave a turnaround of 1.1%.
The data come from a data analysis centre linked to the Intesa San Paolo group, and were presented for the first time at the Farmindustria webinar entitled “The strength of innovation for the relaunch of Southern Italy. The pharmaceutical chain facing the challenge of COVID-19”.
The President of Farmindustria, Mr. Massimo Scaccabarozzi, said that southern Italy played a major role in the peak period of the pandemic. Not only because of the fact that there was an opportunity to ensure continuity of production. It is also an intrinsic quality of the human resources that took part in it, contributing courageously, every day, to the industrial estate of the sector. That is why Farmindustria has decided to confirm its presence and to give more emphasis to policies oriented towards the south of the Country in the future.
Pharmaceuticals among the most innovative and green sectors
According to data released by the webinar, the number of enterprises engaged in the sector grew by +0.4%, with 0.8% in the southern regions. We think of over 750 companies active to date, with over 61 thousand employees that make the medical industry one of the most advanced and green sectors of the Industry 4.0. Even before the emergency, in 2019, the data bode well.
The President of Farmindustria Mr. Massimo Scaccabarozzi finally makes a great contribution to the cause of the South, stating that in 2019 pharmaceutical exports grew by 21%, while in the first quarter of 2020, for the reasons we know, it increased by another 15%. The last few weeks have also witnessed a drastic increase in business continuity, becoming a driving sector also thanks to work continuity planning. Especially during the COVID emergency, this industry could not afford to stop production and was not unprepared.
New launches on the pharmaceutical market
In the presentation of the analysis “COVID-19 Global Executive Briefing“, webinar of the IQVIA Institute, the importance of digitization was demonstrated, which will also acquire greater importance in scientific information activities on drugs. In addition, the presentation makes it clear that in the two-year period 2018-2019 more than 109 products have been launched on the market, while for 2020 more than 50 launches are planned for the period between 2021 and 2028, where it is estimated that there will be more than 340 market entries.
Transforming the crisis into opportunities: this is the objective that the pharmaceutical industry has set itself in this transitional phase of exit from COVID. The task of the Italian economy is to accelerate the transformation of companies that are already competitive today, so that they can survive in the uncertain future on the horizon.