To say that all eyes are on the life sciences industry is an understatement. To this day, the world awaits the next biggest breakthrough in the long fight against COVID-19, and pharmaceuticals continue their literal life-saving research.
With vaccine development on a constant high gear, and people’s expectations high for effective treatment, it is a critical time for pharmaceuticals – any disruption could spell the end of their operations. It is also becoming clear that even medical scientists will need help of their own if they want to protect themselves against exposures such as product liability, clinical trials, and product recalls, among other things.
Fortunately, insurance can help provide some peace of mind for the world’s pharmaceuticals. Insurer CNA has been providing coverage for Canada’s life sciences sector and keeping its finger on the industry’s pulse – especially during this time of pandemic.
Insurance Business spoke with CNA senior underwriter of healthcare & life sciences Michael Brennan and senior risk control consultant for healthcare Ruth Stewart about their thoughts on the life sciences industry, and how the pandemic has changed it.
Listen now: The state of the life science market
According to Brennan, public interest in life sciences prior to the pandemic was low, but it dramatically increased during the onset of COVID-19.
“To put this into context, for the most part you have a population that has never experienced outbreaks or diseases, such as polio. We’ve certainly never experienced a pandemic that has altered our lives so dramatically.”
The senior underwriter also admitted that he and other insurance professionals thought that an event like the COVID-19 pandemic – with its scale and impact – was “highly unlikely.”
“Our highly developed role has made most of us think we were mostly unable to be affected by events such as the one we’re currently living through. Essentially, despite all of our knowledge and resources, we were caught unprepared in many ways.”
The advent of COVID-19 helped to drive home the importance of life sciences in keeping society healthy, Brennan commented. It also drew renewed attention to Canada’s lack of domestic manufacturing capabilities.
“It’s clear that government policies helped to control the pandemic. But without the life sciences industry, we would not have the vaccines that are helping control the current pandemic.”
“I think, moving forward, you’ll have a lot more public and government interest in fueling growth and R&D in the industry itself,” Brennan added. “You’ll see a larger focus on building domestic biomanufacturing capacity and manufacturing other critical medical supplies.”
Listen now: The state of the life science market
