ne who has read the papers in recent months could easily get the impression that the
pharmaceutical industry as a whole is not doing very well. Internationally, serious problems with
world-famous drugs have hit the headlines. Prices and costs have come in for scrutiny in some
countries including — and fairly vehemently of late — Switzerland. Confidence in the industry and its
reputation have been damaged, mainly in the USA but also here in Switzerland.
Over the past five years, the market capitalisation of the global pharmaceutical industry has halved to
CHF 1.5 trillion. Of course the market value of other sectors also plummeted when the stock market
bubble burst. However, it shows that the financial markets have greatly reduced their assessment of
the industry’s prospects. Last year, the market capitalisation of pharmaceutical companies declined
further. Pleasing exceptions to this trend were Roche and the other Basel-based pharmaceutical
company.
For the industry as a whole, therefore, 2004 was not a good year. However, that is no reason to
grumble. A sector which needs 10 to 15 years to bring a new product to market readiness thinks, acts
and plans in longer-term dimensions. It is commercial, scientific and political trends that are decisive
for us. The political framework is particularly important, as there is probably no other industry that is
as strictly regulated as the research-based healthcare sector.
In the light of this situation, I would like to talk today about the challenges facing our sector and
explain why I am still (very) confident about the future of companies like Roche.
But before I look ahead to the future, let me give you a brief overview of the present situation (what
we have achieved so far).