Adapting life sciences services for tomorrow
Trade policies, compliance challenges, and automation are transforming how life sciences delivers services.
In today's volatile trade environment, life sciences companies face unprecedented challenges in their service delivery models. According to the 2025 HFS Research Market Impact report, the life sciences sector demonstrates the highest reliance on outsourcing for a broad spectrum of functions, including research and development, clinical trials, manufacturing, and regulatory submissions. Drawing insights from over 400 senior executives, our analysis reveals that this historically flexible approach is now being tested by increasing protectionism and evolving trade policies.
Our research highlights these critical findings:
66 percent of life sciences executives view current US trade policies as a negative force creating operational challenges, the highest among all industries surveyed
76 percent report increased difficulty in managing cross-regional compliance, with 94 percent indicating a need for external advisory services
61 percent plan to nearshore operations to Latin America or Canada within 24 months, while 62 percent are mandating multi-region service redundancy
88 percent expect to significantly increase spending on AI over the next 12 months
The paradigm shift is clear: traditional outsourcing and offshoring strategies based on labor arbitrage and predictable globalization are obsolete. Success now requires a fundamental transformation from labor-based delivery to outcome-based, AI-powered, and automation-first delivery models. This transformation enables what we call "virtual reshoring", a next-generation approach where control and compliance move closer to home while execution remains globally distributed and increasingly digital through AI-enabled platforms.
Ready to shift from labor arbitrage to agility arbitrage? Download our report to learn how life sciences leaders are transforming their service delivery models for an era where volatility is the new normal.
Dive into our thinking:
KPMG Managed Services: Industry-specific analysis of the 2025 HFS Market Impact report: life sciences
KPMG-HFS Research shows how life sciences companies can transform their service delivery models from cost-centered to resilience-focused operations amid trade volatility
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