Pharma & Healthcare

Patrick Biecheler

Senior Partner, Managing Partner Spain

Paris Office, Western Europe

+33 1 5367-0902

Innovation and expansion

Proving the real life impact

In a world where healthcare is the most vital industry there is, Roland Berger looks after the businesses that look after our health.

Pharmaceutical companies are facing a changing environment: new, disruptive technologies are entering the markets, the stratified medicine approach is reaching new stages of therapy individualization, digital technologies are creating new opportunities to prove the real life impact of pharmaceutical therapies, and medical device companies are being challenged by strengthened regulatory and market access requirements. At the same time, cost pressure is being applied to producers and payers as well as providers.

At Roland Berger, we are helping to move the industry forward through these challenges. We employ innovative market strategies and international expansion, careful management of the supply chain and production sites, and facilitate a shift toward personalized medicine that puts the patient first.

Study (in German)

Digitalization of the health care industry

Digital medical technology improves patient care and will generate high revenue within the next ten years.

Management and operations

Customer-oriented and streamlined operations are the key to unlocking future growth, yet many companies operate on a country by country basis with little external benchmarking or independent oversight.

Roland Berger will work with you to develop adequate commercial operating models that will standardize processes for all key levers and functions. That includes segmentation and value proposing development, execution quality, organization and internal collaboration, metrics, people, and performance. Having worked with companies across the globe, we have a proven assessment approach and understand how to leverage individual strengths and weaknesses. We can do the same for you.

Competition in different pharma segments is intensifying, with increased pressure on profit margins. Consisting of the process steps "Source – Make – Deliver – Plan", the "integrated supply chain" has become the focal point—an area where Roland Berger has a longstanding track record of successful projects in pharma. We can combine this approach with best practice case studies from other pace making industries to strengthen your position.

Research and development

Developing a new medication is expensive and regulations are tight—both factors that put a lot of pressure on R&D. New technologies and players are emerging. Innovation processes have changed. This means that planning a successful R&D strategy requires more than an understanding of what the market needs today—it also requires imagination and the ability to think laterally about how the market is evolving. What will drive the pharma industry in twenty or thirty years? With so much of your capital investment tied up in R&D, you can’t afford to misjudge the future.

We have decades of experience working in the pharmaceutical industry. While it’s true that the past can never be an accurate guide to the future, this experience has given us some important analytical skills. We’ve seen trends come and go, and we’ve watched products succeed and fail. We’ve studied how management strategies work, and understand why they don’t. Work with us, and we can make this knowledge work for you.