Abstract:

This paper has attempted to address the open question of the pharmaceutical industry currently being in crisis by addressing the central hypothesis that the changes facing the pharmaceutical industry are not unique. The presentation not surprisingly supports this hypothesis. Having superficially considered the status of the computing industry I would have to say that the type of change and the impact of the various changes affecting this industry are not dissimilar to those currently being felt in the pharmaceutical sector. Throughout the presentation I have highlighted a change in the dynamics of the computing and pharmaceutical industries and the increasingly powerful role that the intermediaries now play in determining the shape and the direction of those industries.