CPhI Pharma Index reaches record high as pharma confidence in growth rises in all markets

CPhI Worldwide – hosted in-person at Fiera Milano, Italy (9-11 November 2021) – opens its doors to international pharma for the first time in two years as industry confidence surges to record highs according to executives in the CPhI Annual Survey.

The survey insights are published as part of the CPhI Annual Report – which is launched each year at CPhI Worldwide – and compile the thoughts of over 370 executives from more than 30 countries. The CPhI Pharma Index, a composite average of the main small molecule categories[1]  surged by 3.5% in 2021 to reach its highest ever score. The Index is an effective barometer of pharma’s overall outlook and confidence, and the scores for all pharma economies improved from 2020 – with China (7%), India (5%) and the USA (5%) the biggest gainers. In Europe, Spain (4%) and CPhI Worldwide host nation, Italy (4%) saw the largest improvements in the score.

“We are of course incredibly excited to be hosting global pharma again this week and our survey findings show that confidence in pharma is extremely high. The industry is also extremely bullish on growth in 2022, and what we are seeing is a desire among the industry to meet new partners and widen networks. Pharma has made incredible strides this year, and we anticipate that the partnerships the industry undertakes at CPhI Worldwide will drive record growth for pharma in 2022. The mood in the industry is extremely buoyant,” commented Orhan Caglayan, Brand Director at CPhI Worldwide.

In terms of ‘growth potential’ in 2022 [scored 1-10 – with ten being highest], leading the way in the United States (7.47), which for the first time in the survey’s three-year history will surpass both India (7.46) and China (7.25) – the leading nations from the preceding two years. The United States also saw the largest year-on-year percentage rise in its ‘growth potential’ out of all major pharma economies at 10.5%. The results suggest that the country is set to reap the rewards of the expanding R&D pipeline, vaccine contracts and a recent desire to increase support and funding for domestic manufacturing. In addition, the survey data also showed that US and Western European contact services companies were perceived as ‘the biggest winners of macro changes in sourcing’.

Caglayan added: “With CPhI Worldwide now underway, perhaps the most significant finding in addition to the surging outlook, is that half of our respondents say – post-pandemic – they now begin their conversations with supply partners far, far earlier.”

Ultimately, that’s what everyone is here to do at the event, and I encourage the industry to make full use of both the in-person exhibition and online partnering tools so that pharma can continue to grow, lower the cost of therapies and bring more medicine to patients globally.”

The full report will first be made available to registered attendees, and then publicly hosted on cphi-online.com after the event closes.

For more information about the event, please visit cphi.com/Europe.