Life Sciences Leaders Trust Their Own Execution More Than the Economy

Life sciences executives are entering the second half of 2026 with a split view of their industry: deep unease about the global economy paired with rising confidence in their own organizations' ability to execute, according to a new midyear analysis from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.¹

The report combines an April 2026 survey of 150 executives, 90 from biopharmaceutical and 60 from medical technology sectors, with a coded analysis of first quarter 2026 earnings call transcripts from 31 public companies.¹ It builds on Deloitte's original 2026 Life Sciences Outlook, fielded last fall, which similarly found executives more optimistic about their own companies than about the broader economy.²

“For a mid-sized biopharma or medtech company with limited resources, acting now does not mean trying to do everything at once. It means making a few deliberate moves early: improving cost and productivity, concentrating investment behind the most differentiated assets and priority launches, sharpening commercial execution, and using selective partnerships to extend capabilities without overbuilding fixed cost,” explained Pete Lyons, vice chair and US Life Sciences leader, Deloitte, in a written response to The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®). “That is consistent with what we see in the market. 53% of surveyed leaders are adjusting cost, productivity, and margin initiatives; 51% are changing investment focus; 49% are revisiting commercial strategy; and 46% are reevaluating their operating footprint. The companies that may perform best in the second half of 2026 are likely to be the ones that make hard portfolio choices now, stay focused on their strategic north star, and build resilience before market conditions force the issue.”

The Confidence Gap Is Widening, Not Closing

Just 9% of surveyed leaders felt more positive about the global economy than 6 months earlier, and only 27% felt better about the national economy, according to the report.¹ By contrast, 62% felt more positive or much more positive about their own company's outlook, and 48% said the same about the life sciences industry overall.

With the external environment largely out of leaders' hands, internal execution, productivity, commercial discipline, partnerships, and artificial intelligence (AI) deployment have become the primary levers companies are pulling to drive growth for the rest of the year.

Pricing, Tariffs, and AI Dominate Strategic Attention

Pricing, reimbursement, and market access dynamics ranked as the top factor reshaping strategy over the past 6 months (42%), followed by cross-market trade and tariff developments (37%) and competition in core markets (37%). AI adoption ranked just behind, cited by 35% of respondents.

Risk exposure diverges by subsector: biopharmaceutical leaders cited policy shifts, unpredictable clinical outcomes, and rapid competitive resets as top threats to strategy before year-end, while medical technology leaders flagged macroeconomic volatility, geopolitical instability, and provider capital spending as top concerns.

Research and development (R&D) remains the largest single allocation of 2026 investment dollars, but AI and digital spending is now rising at the same pace as R&D, making it the fastest-growing investment priority in this year's survey, tied with R&D itself. Furthermore, 58% percent of organizations increased AI investment compared with 6 months earlier.

Earnings Calls Show Investors Want Proof, Not Promises

Analysts are increasingly pressing management teams for measurable evidence rather than forward-looking commentary, the report's earnings-call analysis found. In the biopharmaceutical sector, clinical trial results drew the most analyst attention by a wide margin, with management responses rated direct in most cases; responses were notably less clear on drug pricing, Inflation Reduction Act implementation, and CMS reimbursement. In the medical technology field, scrutiny centered on revenue guidance, launch execution, and margin outlook, with management again most direct on topics within its operational control; tariffs, international exposure, and geopolitical disruption drew more hedged responses.

The AI Measurement Gap

AI deployment is one of the clearest areas of investment momentum identified in the report: 71% of respondents said deployment has advanced over the past 6 months, and 35% reported significant progress scaling agentic AI. But measurable results are lagging adoption; only 45% of leaders said AI initiatives have produced measurable improvement, and just 13% reported improvement at scale.

Partnerships are one practical way companies are closing that gap without overextending internal teams: 61% of surveyed companies said partnerships are especially important for building AI capabilities, and 45% cited partnerships for innovation, product, or pipeline development.

The report's authors argue that the companies most likely to outperform through year-end won't be the ones waiting for the economic or policy picture to clear but the ones that allocate capital decisively, push productivity gains aggressively, and build the governance to track AI value consistently rather than treating deployment as the finish line.

Managed Care Implications

For payers, pharmacy and therapeutics committees, and medical directors, continued R&D investment amid cost discipline suggests the flow of new therapies and indications into the market is unlikely to slow materially in the second half of 2026. The biopharmaceutical sector’s elevated focus on pricing and reimbursement exposure also signals manufacturers may bring sharper, more defensible value and access arguments to payer negotiations. Given how heavily companies are now leaning on partnerships for AI capabilities, managed care organizations may see a rise in AI-enabled care management and value-based contracting pitches from biopharmaceutical and medical technology partners this year.

References

1. Confidence under pressure: how life sciences leaders are recalibrating for the rest of 2026. Deloitte. June 25, 2026. Accessed June 24, 2026.
2. Lyons P, Konersmann T, Jacobson S, et al. 2026 Life Sciences Outlook. Deloitte. December 9, 2025. Accessed June 24, 2026. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/life-sciences-and-health-care-industry-outlooks/2026-life-sciences-executive-outlook.html