GZERO World with Ian Bremmer How life sciences investment drives economic growth
Oct 14, 2025
David Gluckman, Vice Chairman at Lazard, and Patrick Horber, President of Novartis International, dive deep into the economic powerhouse that life sciences represent. They reveal that for every dollar invested, three dollars of GDP are generated—making it a key growth engine. The duo discusses the ingredients for successful regional hubs, the essential role of government in fostering innovation, and the crucial policies that attract pharmaceutical investments. Their insights emphasize how life sciences can transform economies while enhancing patient care.
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Life Sciences Deliver Strong Economic Returns
- The life sciences sector generates outsized economic returns and long-term financial outperformance.
- Lazard found bioscience produced a 17% compound annual return from 1990–2022 and huge GDP and job impacts in 2023.
Clusters Create An Innovation Flywheel
- Innovation hubs succeed when universities, specialized infrastructure, capital, and talent cluster together.
- Dense ecosystems create flywheels where success attracts capital and more skilled workers.
China's Rapid Ascent In Biotech
- China has rapidly risen as a major R&D and drug-development hub in the last decade.
- R&D spending jumped to about $15 billion in 2023 and China now accounts for over a quarter of global drug development.