Third Global Biopharma Index from Cytiva reveals talent crunch, regulatory strain
- Industry report measures progress in six main areas: supply chain resilience, talent pool, R&D ecosystem, manufacturing agility, government policy and regulation and sustainability.
- Results show growth in industry is accelerating, but the gap between the top performers and the rest is widening.
- Supply chain resilience has improved, while manufacturing agility, government policy and regulation and talent pool have declined.
Cytiva, a Danaher company and a leader in the life sciences industry, has launched its third Global Biopharma Index. Every two years, Cytiva surveys 1250 biopharma executives across 22 countries and asks them to rate, on a scale of 0 to 10, the biopharma ecosystem across six pillars: supply chain resilience, talent pool, R&D ecosystem, manufacturing agility, government policy and regulation. Sustainability is a new pillar in the 2025 survey.
The global average fell to 5.96, down from 6.08 in 2023, and 6.60 in 2021. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and South Korea are the top three ranking countries in the 2025 Index. South Korea moved from twelfth place in 2023 to third. This improvement reflects the investment in digital innovation, clinical trial capacity, and its R&D output. Regulatory uncertainty and policy disruption moved the United States from second to fifth place.
Pierre-Alain Ruffieux, Chief Operating Officer, Cytiva says:
As a leading global life sciences company, we must understand the challenges and opportunities our customers experience in every corner of the world. The Global Biopharma Index provides us with the insights needed to create the partnerships our customers need to bring the next generation of medicines to clinic.
Compared with 2023, economic strength is less predictive of biopharma resilience. The 2025 data shows that some upper-middle-income countries are gaining ground, particularly if they focus investments on advanced manufacturing, regulatory reform, and innovation incentives.
Michael May, President and CEO, Centre for Commercialisation of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), says:
The world is shifting from globalisation to more regional perspectives, partly due to politics, economics, and the diminished focus on COVID. But to bring sophisticated products to market, we need to be as collaborative as we’ve ever been.
In-depth look: the six pillars of resilience
- Supply chain resilience is improving with 55% of executives stating they believe their country’s biopharma supply chains are more robust than 12 months ago. However, more than a quarter surveyed say their supply chain is not equipped to support advanced modalities such as cell and gene therapies. 76% predict that geopolitical volatility will significantly impact their sourcing strategies, while 56% agree that domestic manufacturing of biologics is set to increase dramatically over the next three years.
- The talent pool has improved slightly, but continues to be a challenge for the biopharma industry. Approximately one third of executives report severe or critical shortages in key areas associated with advanced drug modalities, such as cell and gene therapies, mRNA, and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), sustainability, manufacturing, digital, and AI skills.
- The R&D Ecosystem pillar is stronger than it was 2023. Countries that score highly on this pillar are more likely to bring therapies to market faster. Collaboration is key to a strong R&D ecosystem and nearly half of respondents said it remains difficult to find high-quality partners, such as CROs/CDMOs, academic research institutions, and government labs and think tanks.
- Manufacturing agility is central to biopharma’s ability to respond to changing demand. 2025 data shows that many firms lack the ability to scale production quickly. One in four executives surveyed said their organisation would be slow or very slow to ramp up manufacturing of hormone-based products, mRNA vaccines, and cell and gene therapies.
- Government policy and regulation is critical to the biopharma industry. However, our data shows that many executives are struggling with fragmented, unpredictable, policy environments. 51% say government policy is inconsistent and 50% say it is now harder to raise capital due to current market conditions.
- Sustainability is a strategic priority across many industries but almost half of biopharma executives report their company is failing to achieve its sustainability targets. Nearly two-thirds say their company deprioritises sustainability due to short-term financial pressures and competing business priorities. 34% report talent shortages in sustainability roles.
Pierre-Alain Ruffieux says:
Continued evolution and collaboration, particularly between government agencies and industry partners, is essential to ensuring the biopharma industry can meet global demands.
