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19:27
Next in Health Podcast: Where will growth emerge in health?
Glenn Hunzinger, PwC’s US Health Industries Leader, speaks with Sunil Patel, SVP and head of corporate development and business development & licensing at Merck, and Sumit Khedekar, Global head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Citigroup at the JPM Healthcare Conference in San Francisco about where growth in the pharmaceutical industry is headed over the next five to ten years, and how science, capital allocation, and risk taking are shaping the future of healthcare.
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We’ve summarized the full discussion in a short Q&A format so you can get the highlights in minutes.
Where will growth emerge in health over the next 10 years?
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Where do you see growth coming from in the industry, and which areas are most important to focus on?
A. Sunil Patel
Rather than looking at short term snapshots, we think about growth through a more macro lens. Healthcare and biotech move in cycles, but this is a fantastic time to be in pharma because science continues to advance. What matters most is whether the ecosystem is functioning the way it should. As long as venture capital, academia, and entrepreneurs continue to bring forward high quality science, there will always be opportunity. At Merck, we want a front row seat to that science so we can engage early, develop differentiated insights, and ultimately bring the most promising innovations to patients.
A. Sumit Khedekar
I agree, and I would frame it as an incredible time to be a patient. The level of unmet need remains significant, and innovation is coming from all over the world, not just the US. China has become a meaningful source of innovation, and artificial intelligence is influencing everything from research and development to commercialization and patient access. Beyond therapeutics, diagnostics are advancing rapidly, including blood based cancer tests. When you take a broad view, the pace and scope of innovation are what make this moment so exciting.
How companies are thinking about risk and capital allocation
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Given the competitive and uncertain environment, how are companies thinking about deploying capital and managing risk?
A. Sumit Khedekar
The industry structure is important context. There are many large pharmaceutical companies with strong balance sheets, but not enough organic growth to support all of them. That forces leaders to think carefully about how they deploy capital to generate returns. Historically, the industry has struggled to consistently deliver shareholder value, which has pushed companies to be more forward leaning. One example is taking calculated risks earlier in a drug’s lifecycle. Acquiring or partnering with assets before full clinical data can create more value for buyers, as long as downside risk is managed appropriately.
A. Sunil Patel
Discipline is critical. The capital we deploy represents decades of trust from employees, shareholders, and leadership, and it can be lost very quickly if decisions are not thoughtful. Where you enter a drug’s lifecycle matters. There are inflection points, particularly in clinical development, where deep scientific expertise and strong diligence can allow companies to create meaningful value. The greatest potential value is often created very early, in discovery or preclinical stages, though those opportunities come with much higher risk and lower success rates.
Why early and sustained engagement with innovators matters
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
How do you think about allocating time and resources across different stages of innovation, from discovery through later stage development?
A. Sunil Patel
At Merck, we see ourselves as a science focused company, and that mindset extends across the organization. We want to engage with companies wherever they are on their scientific journey, often very early. That means maintaining active dialogue, even if a transaction does not happen right away. Providing candid feedback and staying engaged helps both sides sharpen their thinking. We are patient and thoughtful about timing, looking for the moment when a program and a partner are ready to come together in a way that creates value for patients and shareholders.
How to think about deal value and premiums
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
How should executives think about deal premiums and value creation, especially given the risks involved?
A. Sumit Khedekar
Rather than focusing solely on premiums, it is more useful to think about fundamental value. Most deals do not fully achieve their original thesis, and many underperform expectations or fail in development. Success often depends on a small number of winners offsetting many disappointments. That reality requires companies to be honest about where they have true insight or differentiation. Identifying those few breakthrough opportunities is what ultimately drives value.
Key emerging trends shaping the future of healthcare
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Looking ahead, what emerging trends or areas of focus are you watching most closely?
A. Sunil Patel
We try not to make bold predictions, because many of today’s breakthroughs were difficult to foresee just a few years ago. Instead, we focus on areas with significant unmet patient need. Oncology remains a priority, as there is still a long way to go despite major advances. Immunology also continues to offer meaningful opportunity. More broadly, we are increasingly mindful of how evolving payer systems, policy changes, and global dynamics affect which innovations will ultimately succeed. Incremental innovation will be more challenging, while therapies that deliver profound impact in areas of high unmet need will stand out.
A. Sumit Khedekar
I would add diagnostics and earlier detection as an important frontier, particularly in cancer. How healthcare is paid for globally is also likely to evolve, which could reshape industry behavior and structure. We are often surprised by where breakthroughs ultimately emerge, so flexibility and openness remain essential.
What excites leaders most about the future of healthcare
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
As you think about the future, what excites you most about where the industry is headed?
A. Sunil Patel
Collectively, the industry is tackling some of the biggest health challenges facing society. Areas like cardiovascular disease and neuroscience still have enormous unmet need, and I believe sustained focus and investment will lead to meaningful progress. Neuroscience, in particular, remains one of the most underdeveloped areas, and I am optimistic that continued commitment will drive breakthroughs that make a real difference for patients and families.
A. Sumit Khedekar
We should recognize how much progress the industry has already delivered, including through recent global health crises. The risk taken to innovate is significant, and society benefits enormously when it works. Looking ahead, expanding access to innovation in developing markets represents a major opportunity to improve human health on a global scale. Overall, it is an increasingly hopeful time to think about the future of care.
Episode transcript
Find episode transcript below.
Glenn Hunzinger
Welcome to Next in Health. I'm Glen Hunzinger,
01:00:11:03 - 01:00:30:00
Glenn Hunzinger
PwC’s health industry leader. We're here in San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference, this is my favorite time of the year. It's a time everyone gets together to really, talk about the year ahead, what the future of our industry looks like. What's the most exciting? And no doubt there is a buzz here around the innovation, around science.
01:00:30:02 - 01:00:43:13
Glenn Hunzinger
Today we're going to talk about where the growth in our industry is going to come from, what it's going to look like in the next 5 to 10 years. And what, my esteemed guests here the most excited about. So, today I'm joined with,
01:00:43:13 - 01:00:47:07
Glenn Hunzinger
Sunil Patel, senior vice president and head of corporate development at Merck.
01:00:47:07 - 01:00:51:22
Glenn Hunzinger
and Sumit Khedekar, who's the global head of investment banking at Citigroup.
01:00:51:22 - 01:00:53:09
Glenn Hunzinger
Gentlemen, thanks for being here.
01:00:53:09 - 01:00:54:00
Sunil Patel
Thank you.
01:00:54:00 - 01:00:55:06
Glenn Hunzinger
let's jump right in.
01:00:55:06 - 01:00:55:16
Glenn Hunzinger
Where is
01:00:55:16 - 01:00:56:00
Glenn Hunzinger
growth
01:00:56:00 - 01:00:56:21
Glenn Hunzinger
going to come from,
01:00:56:21 - 01:00:58:03
Glenn Hunzinger
what areas? What do you think?
01:00:58:14 - 01:01:14:18
Sunil Patel
I think, the one thing when I think about growth, you know, I don't really focus on, you know, any snapshots in time and you know what's right in front of us today, I take a much more macro theme about it. And, you know, when I think about this industry and biotech and everything, it can go in cycles.
01:01:14:18 - 01:01:38:01
Sunil Patel
But this is a fantastic time, to be in health care and being where we are in pharma, because science is continually cultivating and we don't really get focused on, you know, what's happening today. It's like, is the ecosystem operating the way it should be? And for me, it is. There's always amazing science turning up. When you're at a company like Merck who really focuses on fundamental science.
01:01:38:03 - 01:02:03:15
Sunil Patel
It's exciting. No matter what year you are in what decade? Because there's always amazing science turning up. And for us, that's what we're wanting to make sure, you know, are there's a VC market taking the bets that they're supposed to bringing out great science, whether it be from, you know, a group who just wanted to started, you know, maybe they spun out of a company and where they want to go and do something on their own or academia as long as that's working, there's always amazing things happening.
01:02:03:15 - 01:02:16:09
Sunil Patel
And that's where we're kind of focused on is just making sure that great science, we have a front row seat to it. We're engaged with companies early, and we can then hopefully have a differentiated view to bring that science into Merck.
01:02:16:10 - 01:02:16:15
Glenn Hunzinger
So
01:02:16:15 - 01:02:31:23
Glenn Hunzinger
yeah, it's it's I mean, it was totally made a couple days here. But I think that is absolutely the buzz right now is the science and the innovation that's out there. And I think I'm hearing more now than ever where people are talking about like, we're going to see where science sort of takes us and we're going to follow it a bit more.
01:02:32:01 - 01:02:35:18
Glenn Hunzinger
Sumit, maybe talk a little bit about like, what are you seeing? How do you advise clients there?
01:02:35:18 - 01:02:58:02
Sumit Khedekar
Yeah, sure. Look, I agree with everything Sunil said, and I put it just a little differently, which is it's honestly a great time to think of yourself as a patient too, right? With the size of the unmet need, there is the amount of innovation that's coming not just from, things in the US, but beyond, you've seen the emergence of China as a big source of innovation.
01:02:58:04 - 01:03:27:16
Sumit Khedekar
Artificial intelligence is becoming more important, not just on the clinical and the research side, but also on the commercial side. How are patients getting access to these medicines? What's the end state? Beyond pharmaceuticals, there's a lot of innovation and diagnostics. Right. You have these blood based cancer tests now. So if you look more broadly at it, I think that's the most important thing to me that if I would rather be a patient today than at any other time in our history, and that's the piece that's most exciting.
01:03:27:16 - 01:03:30:23
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah, it's quite exciting. And you, you talked you spoke a little bit about China. Yeah.
01:03:30:23 - 01:03:45:15
Glenn Hunzinger
Clear that, you know, I, you know, half of the licensing deals last year, you know, were from China. And I think for years we've been hearing about the quality of the assets coming out and just the speed in which you can do it, which definitely, I think I'm sure is putting the U.S biotech market and the FDA on notice.
01:03:45:15 - 01:03:59:12
Glenn Hunzinger
I think from a US perspective, how do we sort of compete? But maybe we dovetail with a bit into, you know, how do you how do you sort of invest into this riskier environment, you know, appropriate capital allocation. But how do you think about advising clients to. Yeah.
01:03:59:12 - 01:04:09:02
Sumit Khedekar
my perspective is if you spend a second on the industry structure, right, you have 20, 30 companies with 50 plus billion dollars market caps, really strong balance sheets.
01:04:09:02 - 01:04:09:15
Sumit Khedekar
So
01:04:09:15 - 01:04:14:12
Sumit Khedekar
there isn't enough growth to feed all of them. Right? So you have to start thinking about
01:04:14:12 - 01:04:21:04
Sumit Khedekar
what do I do? How do I deploy my capital in ways that are intelligent and deliver the right returns for my shareholders?
01:04:21:04 - 01:04:32:08
Sumit Khedekar
The industry as a whole hasn't delivered a lot by way of shareholder return over the last decade, and it's been a challenge for everybody. And I think part of what you're seeing now is people think about allocating their,
01:04:32:08 - 01:04:43:08
Sumit Khedekar
capital is how can we be more forward footed? Right. So if I think about analytics and the NFL or any sport, right, people never went for it on fourth down.
01:04:43:08 - 01:05:04:18
Sumit Khedekar
Right? The pharma equivalent would be going and acquiring company pre data. And I think Merck and Sunil are the pioneers in some of this which is just sort of doing the calculation and saying look let's take the calculated risk because the value capture for the buyer is normally in the development stage. So that's sort of a little bit of my perspective and how people have thought about risk.
01:05:04:20 - 01:05:18:04
Sumit Khedekar
You have to calibrate it because if it's too big and you're wrong, that's a really bad outcome. But as long as you can manage the downside, I think that's an approach where we've seen more and more people get comfortable with that concept.
01:05:18:06 - 01:05:19:06
Sunil Patel
I don’t know if you agree.
01:05:19:06 - 01:05:37:20
Sunil Patel
Yeah, no, I absolutely agree. I mean, what we always say at Merck is, you know, we're fortunate we have a lot of capital, but that capital is built up over 150 years of people dedicating their lives to our company. And you really have to be disciplined, in this market, with this,
01:05:37:20 - 01:05:38:21
Sunil Patel
ecosystem, because
01:05:38:21 - 01:05:40:13
Sunil Patel
you can make it disappear overnight.
01:05:40:13 - 01:05:53:17
Sunil Patel
And there's a lot of trust that the board of directors, the shareholders, the executive team, the employees put in a select few to make those decisions right. And for us, we think in a lot of what Sumit said,
01:05:53:17 - 01:05:55:20
Sunil Patel
you can create great value for yourself,
01:05:55:20 - 01:06:08:13
Sunil Patel
pending where you enter into a drug's life cycle. And, you know, for us, we've decided that really when we think about clinical assets and, and I think that's where a lot of the focus, that's where a lot of the headlines come is when you do a clinical stage deal,
01:06:08:13 - 01:06:10:05
Sunil Patel
there is an inflection point
01:06:10:05 - 01:06:12:16
Sunil Patel
where you can get in early enough.
01:06:12:18 - 01:06:17:19
Sunil Patel
If you really focused on the diligence and you have great expertise in that area,
01:06:17:19 - 01:06:34:03
Sunil Patel
you can come in while the the cards haven't turned out turned over all the time, know where you're maybe have phase two data. It's going into phase three. That can be a great point early phase three that's a little riskier. But if you really have a fundamental differentiated view, you can create value there.
01:06:34:03 - 01:06:38:08
Sunil Patel
Because once something gets fully de-risked and launch, then you're in a whole different.
01:06:38:08 - 01:06:39:06
Sunil Patel
Yeah, you're in a
01:06:39:06 - 01:07:02:02
Sunil Patel
different price point. You're in also, you're struggling to create the value. And that's the real thing. You have to ask exactly what Sumit said is where can you come in with a differentiated view and still create value for patients, for your shareholders, for your company and I think getting in sometimes, you know, mid inflection point on a clinical program, that's that's where can create value.
01:07:02:02 - 01:07:28:16
Sunil Patel
But the greatest value is always created when you can get in with something really early: discovery phase, preclinical. You'll see a lot of companies willing to transact there. Of course the hit rate is very different and the you're more in the 5%, five, 10% range. But those sort of programs where you can stay with them, get in early and really fundamentally put your value into it is that's where you can create the most value for yourself.
01:07:28:19 - 01:07:45:23
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah. You raise good point. Which is the industry as a shareholder challenge. Right. It's always kind of generally underperform the market. And you know, heavy on compliance is a lot of rules and regs and pricing. You know, you don't have the elasticity and so you really have to look for what can you bring to the table to create value.
01:07:46:01 - 01:07:55:09
Glenn Hunzinger
You know Sunil when you talk about that how do you how do you think about your time and allocating your time and to your investments through those phases of discovery?
01:07:55:13 - 01:07:56:19
Sunil Patel
So my time personally.
01:07:56:19 - 01:07:58:21
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah. And and the company's an investment.
01:07:59:03 - 01:08:05:05
Sunil Patel
we at Merck, I think the wonderful thing is we truly believe,
01:08:05:05 - 01:08:19:04
Sunil Patel
all the way to every employee that we are a science focused company. And for us, we want to be with each company wherever they are on their scientific journey. And most of it, we know we want to get in early. We want to track these companies.
01:08:19:06 - 01:08:37:17
Sunil Patel
We want to have active dialog. Sometimes we talk to them and we try to work out a transaction. It doesn't work out, but that doesn't mean it's over. It means that we're going to keep staying engaged. We're going to help them give them very, you know, candid views on how we see their science, what they can do to actually make it better.
01:08:37:17 - 01:08:43:22
Sunil Patel
Because always having an active dialog with a partner or a potential company makes it makes you both better.
01:08:43:22 - 01:08:57:00
Sunil Patel
And then for us, you know, it's really trying to find out what's the right time for the company on their journey and Merck on where we are and how we prioritize it to see if there's a time and a place where it makes sense to come together.
01:08:57:02 - 01:09:18:00
Sunil Patel
For us, we're very patient, you know, we don't have to jump in and do something right away. And what you want to have is you want to have a company that's ready to turn over their program at the right time, because then that's when they're most in, you know, they're all in. And knowing that the right partner in the right place is big pharma, because there is a there's a place for,
01:09:18:00 - 01:09:21:09
Sunil Patel
entrepreneurs to take risk and cultivate science.
01:09:21:15 - 01:09:28:10
Sunil Patel
And then there's a time for big pharma to come in. And knowing when you can get to that place, I think it's where you can create the most value.
01:09:28:11 - 01:09:46:16
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah. I think you kind of hit on it with this, like this idea of trust. If somebody has a biotech company founded, they want to make sure whoever is their partner and long term partner is a trust. So to get to the next level, maybe Sumit just pivot in that, just hitting on sort of on the value piece and where premiums are like, how do you see that playing out?
01:09:46:16 - 01:09:51:02
Glenn Hunzinger
And obviously, to your point, you know, the stage of the asset. Yeah. Plays into here.
01:09:51:05 - 01:10:16:02
Sumit Khedekar
I think the premiums are important and it's a metric a lot of people track. I tend to think more of it as fundamental value. And what does the buyer get? What does the seller get? Most, in most of these instances, the seller is getting paid for, the innovation they've developed, but also they're taking off some of the risk off and the commercial risk, if you think about it from the buyer standpoint, I think it's just helpful to have in mind the base rates.
01:10:16:02 - 01:10:43:18
Sumit Khedekar
Right. So we've done this analysis, for a number of years. Most deals don't achieve the deal a thesis. Right. So if you track it over time, I'd say the vast majority of them are either below or sometimes significantly below the forecast. And some, in fact fail in the clinical trials. So the mindset I think that we at least suggested people to have in this is you have to have the few winners that are going to carry a bunch of
01:10:43:18 - 01:10:44:10
Glenn Hunzinger
losers.
01:10:44:10 - 01:11:01:04
Sumit Khedekar
Right. And so you have to have a little bit of that mindset when you're doing it. And identifying those true winners requires insight and skill. And that's where I think a lot of companies and really need to be honest with themselves. Right. Where are we different? Where do we have special insight.
01:11:01:14 - 01:11:20:17
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah, that's quite interesting. And obviously it's a it's a risky environment to to be able to invest in. It's really hard to balance it to your point, Sunil, you really have to have like the capabilities to, to sort of really evaluate and find those sort of gems. So, so, so when you guys think about kind of what's ahead, how do you think about emerging trends?
01:11:20:17 - 01:11:26:02
Glenn Hunzinger
What do you guys seeing? What do you feel, you know, in the next year and beyond, it's, Sunil maybe we start with you.
01:11:27:10 - 01:11:42:08
Sunil Patel
I think, you know, when we think about it, we really try to just keep an open mind and not make too many bold predictions. Because if we look back five years, nobody would have thought, like, some of the breakthroughs that are happening. I just go back to like sort of areas that are of interest right now for Merck.
01:11:42:08 - 01:12:05:08
Sunil Patel
And, you know, we see a lot of exciting things happening in the I&I field. It's a crowded field, but I think there's still some really unique, insights happening there and some science turning over. So we're really focused there. I think oncology, the patient need is still there. And I'll even back up to it to a deeper, more fundamental thing is like where do we see great patient need patients?
01:12:05:08 - 01:12:23:20
Sunil Patel
You know, no matter all the breakthroughs we've made in oncology and Keytruda has been a wonder drug, it's still we have patients dying and that's not acceptable. You know. And the standard of care needs to be elevated. So we see a lot of sort of interesting really interesting science happening in oncology. So that's an area that we're really focused on.
01:12:23:20 - 01:12:36:11
Sunil Patel
Like I said, immunology. And that's a really still an area that I think can be, untapped and has a lot more potential. So, you know, those are sort of some of the key areas, that we, we're kind of focused on, right now
01:12:36:12 - 01:12:52:15
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah. It's an interesting perspective because you hear it's a crowded space, but I think that's an enlightening view, which is there's still a lot of unmet need there for the patient if people don't talk enough about that. So I mean, when you look about, you know, some of that frontier innovation and what you're excited about, you know, what do you kind of see?
01:12:52:15 - 01:12:53:12
Sumit Khedekar
I'm thinking
01:12:53:12 - 01:13:04:20
Sumit Khedekar
I think mostly the same things that Sunil touched on. Right. Do you think about where the unmet need is, where, where is the opportunity. I also think we're not very good at predicting what's next,
01:13:04:20 - 01:13:05:14
Sumit Khedekar
right? Like
01:13:05:14 - 01:13:07:00
Sumit Khedekar
15 years ago,
01:13:07:00 - 01:13:22:10
Sumit Khedekar
everybody was super excited about hep C. After that, it was immuno oncology. Right. And even if you think about, where they mean oncology drugs like Keytruda ended up working, it's not obvious that they would work in those areas at the outset.
01:13:22:12 - 01:13:46:19
Sumit Khedekar
So I think we continue to be quite surprised by things, but I'm sure in five years there'll be a bunch of things we're talking about that we had, didn't have a great sense of they were emerging. I do think this whole question of the diagnostics, catching things early, especially things like cancer, I think is going to be a much bigger part of the treatment paradigm.
01:13:46:21 - 01:13:54:00
Sumit Khedekar
I think how we pay for things just on a global scale, I think that's going to see a lot of evolution, and that'll change, some of
01:13:54:00 - 01:14:06:05
Sumit Khedekar
the behavior about the drug companies and probably the whole insurance system. So I think those are some of the other big areas that I think will change. And that will have some implications for industry structure.
01:14:06:09 - 01:14:06:13
Sumit Khedekar
Yeah.
01:14:06:17 - 01:14:25:17
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah. This idea that rise of the consumer is certainly here. I mean, we did a study of 4000, sort of patients and consumers out there and it's clear, you know, the sandwich generation, which is, you know, us, we care for our parents. Our kids are self, you know, we want to be enabled. But the interesting thing is the Gen Z are demanding it.
01:14:25:17 - 01:14:42:00
Glenn Hunzinger
You know, the tech native, they actually have a lot of trust in technology companies. You know, it's a very sort of different mindset. But they're demanding the change. They want it. They want to be empowered. They want all this information at their fingertips, and they want it to be personalized right. Which it's good to hear. I mean, there's no doubt the trends are all heading there now.
01:14:42:01 - 01:15:02:01
Sunil Patel
And I think Sumit brings up a really good point. We focus so much on science getting a drug developed, but the payer system is changing on us radically. And I think that's the one thing that some of our, you know, biotech peers still are trying to catch up to as they develop drugs is like, not only you have to develop drugs
01:15:02:01 - 01:15:22:11
Sunil Patel
You have to develop drugs that you know is going to fit into the new world, of the way health care systems are evolving, the way, you know, the IRA is sitting out there, and there's just a lot of geopolitical things that are happening in this industry. And they're not whenever something happens, rarely does it revert back. So that's sort of the new norm.
01:15:22:16 - 01:15:39:23
Sunil Patel
And I think those are the things that you have to really be focused on. And that is, you know, you have to bring forward a, you know, you have to bring a drug forward into an area of a high unmet medical need in that drug needs to have a profound impact in that area. And, you know, if you can stay focused on that, you'll be okay.
01:15:39:23 - 01:15:45:03
Sunil Patel
But bringing forward a sort of incremental innovation, it's just going to be more challenging and challenging.
01:15:45:07 - 01:16:07:23
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah, I think the word profound is a good one there because you're right. I mean, the US has $5 trillion Health care spend growing at 8% while pharm is only. Yeah, 13 and 14%. That certainly gets sometimes an oversize, focus. So you're right, having some profound science there. So guys, as you think about like, you know, you've been in this field a long time, what are you most excited about?
01:16:07:23 - 01:16:18:07
Glenn Hunzinger
What do you think about when you think about the future, your children, the science ahead. Like, what's the one thing that maybe people don't know about that, that you've got your sort of eye on? Maybe Sunil I'll start with you.
01:16:18:11 - 01:16:42:09
Sunil Patel
Look, I think Sumit said it we need to be a patient right now in this environment is probably, you know, I'm sure forward looking. It'll even be better than, But, you know, what I'm most excited about is we, the industry, collectively, they're tackling big health care problems. And these are problems that, you know, you didn't even think were around.
01:16:42:09 - 01:17:01:16
Sunil Patel
Like, the thing is, just think about even cardiovascular disease. I think most people thought we were okay. But now we're making just huge strides there. I think neuroscience was the one area that we you know, I failed to touch upon. That is still the most untapped area. And I think people are really dedicated, especially in the big pharma.
01:17:01:18 - 01:17:20:09
Sunil Patel
I don't think people give the Big Pharma enough credit. And I think all of our peers, they're all still dedicated there, and we are going to tackle some really major health care needs in neuroscience. And I think those are the things I'm looking forward to, because that's the one area that I still think needs a really focused effort.
01:17:20:09 - 01:17:21:13
Sunil Patel
And I believe enough of us are
01:17:21:13 - 01:17:22:05
Sunil Patel
focused there.
01:17:22:08 - 01:17:32:21
Glenn Hunzinger
Yeah, yeah. I mean, think just think about Alzheimer's and the drain on families to child care. It's it's just kind of wild. Sumit, leave our audience with some some great views here.
01:17:33:11 - 01:17:57:06
Sumit Khedekar
Now I just think we should we should just be really grateful for everything the industry has given to us. Right. We just went through Covid not so long ago. Right. We've come to the other end of it. And I agree with Sunil. The industry doesn't get enough credit for the risk they take on. Right? A lot of people think of the drug companies make so much money, etc. the reality is the returns for shareholders haven't been great.
01:17:57:08 - 01:18:17:13
Sumit Khedekar
And you sort of have to believe that on the other end, there is a social contract in which society will find a way to pay for the innovation and the risk that the companies are taking on. And I'm hopeful that, people are going to see the value of that we're getting from these medicines and that it's probably going to be an ever better time to be a patient.
01:18:17:15 - 01:18:44:08
Sumit Khedekar
And certainly I'm hopeful that, you know, when our kids are older, they will have much better care available. The last thing I'd say is we've focused a lot of our conversation around the US and the developed world, but the unmet need in a lot of the developing world is even greater, right? So getting them access to some of these medicines over time in the right construct, I think, is also going to be a huge wave that will improve human health just across the board.
01:18:44:10 - 01:18:45:07
Glenn Hunzinger
Perfect.
01:18:45:09 - 01:18:46:14
Glenn Hunzinger
Sunil, Sumit .
01:18:46:14 - 01:18:51:08
Glenn Hunzinger
Thank you both for being here and sharing your perspective about what excites you most about our industry and
01:18:51:08 - 01:19:00:19
Glenn Hunzinger
where you see really the future of science and how to sort of balance that with growth and how executives are thinking about it. I think it's super helpful for perspective, for our teams.
01:19:00:19 - 01:19:03:08
Glenn Hunzinger
So team, it'll be exciting to see what's ahead
01:19:03:10 - 01:19:04:11
Glenn Hunzinger
for 2026.
01:19:04:16 - 01:19:07:05
Glenn Hunzinger
On behalf of PwC thank you both for being here.
01:19:07:05 - 01:19:08:11
Glenn Hunzinger
For more on these topics
01:19:08:11 - 01:19:09:15
Glenn Hunzinger
and other topics across
01:19:09:15 - 01:19:10:13
Glenn Hunzinger
health industries.
01:19:10:13 - 01:19:12:02
Glenn Hunzinger
Please subscribe to our podcast
01:19:12:02 - 01:19:12:13
Glenn Hunzinger
at.
01:19:12:13 - 01:19:13:16
Glenn Hunzinger
pwc.com/us/nextinhealthpodcast
01:19:16:07 - 01:19:18:11
Glenn Hunzinger
Until next time. This has been next in health.
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