2026 Global Life Sciences Outlook

Deloitte Global has recently released its "2026 Life Sciences Outlook," which reveals that life sciences executives are generally optimistic about their own organizations’ financial prospects. However, geopolitical tensions, pricing pressures, and regulatory shifts are creating complex challenges. Industry leaders believe that by 2026, companies will need to strengthen resilience through diversified business portfolios and agile operations, while fully leveraging AI and emerging technologies to boost productivity and drive sustained growth and innovation.

Market sentiment varies by region and sector

Although more than 75% of responding biopharma and medtech executives are confident in their own organizations’ financial outlooks for the coming year. However, only 41% feel optimistic about the health of the global economy, with executives in Europe and Asia showing greater optimism for their industry’s 2026 performance than US peers.

Surveyed medtech executives tend to be more optimistic about the future than their biopharma peers, while anticipating similar revenue growth (81%). There is no statistically significant difference between the growth expectations of medtech executives in the United States (84%) and those in several countries outside the United States (78%), suggesting a broadly consistent outlook across geographies.

Trends shaping 2026 strategies

Looking ahead, life sciences leaders cited several trends likely to influence their corporate strategies in 2026. While digital transformation remains a core focus, regulatory changes, pricing pressures, and geopolitical shifts are equally pressing and could affect organizational performance.

• Growing regulatory and policy influence: One in two non-US respondents (51%) pointed to national regulatory changes could affect market access, pricing, and reimbursement models.
• Acceleration of digital transformation and AI: Nearly half of respondents (48%) identified accelerated digital transformation as a trend that is likely to have a substantial impact on their organizations in 2026. Despite these investments, only 22% of life sciences leaders said they have successfully scaled AI.
• Persistent pricing, access, and portfolio pressures: Pricing and access to medications, therapies, and medical technologies remain major strategic considerations for 44% of respondents.
• Heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty: Concern about geopolitical tensions has risen sharply, with 39% of respondents naming it as a top issue. Nearly the same share of respondents (38%) identified inflation, broader economic pressures, and supply chain risks as factors likely to shape organizational strategies in 2026
• Evolving customer models and needs: One-third of respondents (33%) said connected care delivery is a top trend for 2026, highlighting the ongoing shift in care delivery and engagement models.

Cost management to be a core strategy for responding to market conditions in 2026. Surveyed executives identified three main priorities for managing costs: deploying AI tools, improving productivity, and optimizing pricing and access strategies.

Innovation and technology as growth drivers

Life sciences leaders increasingly view innovation—as a pathway to navigating uncertainty and fueling growth in the year ahead. Surveyed executives identify three key actions expected to help drive organizational growth in 2026:

• Organic pipeline replenishment and expansion: About half of companies intend to focus on launching new therapies and devices or platforms. Large molecules, cell, gene, and RNA-based therapies, and antibody-drug conjugates will power revenue growth over the next two to three years.
• Renewed focus on mergers and acquisitions: Strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions are rising on the growth agenda: 45% of surveyed biopharma leaders and 51% of medtech leaders see M&A as a top near-term strategic priority.
• AI as a growth engine: Respondents see investments in AI-enabled platforms as a key growth driver for 2026, particularly in diagnostics and workflow optimization.

Looking ahead, against the backdrop of a cautious global economic outlook, scientific advancements, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence are driving strong growth expectations for the life sciences industry. Companies that can simultaneously embrace global momentum and technological change while remaining locally rooted and agile in their responses are likely to gain a competitive edge and stand out in an increasingly intense market environment.