For health-care providers and medtech manufacturers alike, the decade ahead will require a coming to terms with digital technologies and integrating new methods of payment. Quality of service delivery remains the market-entry criterion, but companies will have to adapt to evolving health-care models. The stakes are high. Will manufacturers be able to capitalize on the changes in a market that is more competitive and unpredictable than ever?

Purdue will partner with Exicure to develop psoriasis therapies using the latter’s Spherical Nucleic Acid platform, while Sienna buys Creabilis to advance its psoriasis candidate to Phase III. Meanwhile, one focus of the Almirall/Nuevolution tie-up will be psoriatic arthritis.

Hospitals are starting to implement vendor management programs to restrict sales reps' access in their facilities. This new process is primarily designed to address liability concerns, but it's also a tactic to control "rogue" purchasing by hospital staff who may not actually have the authority to buy products.

America's aging population presents problems and opportunities in the health care industry; The oldest of the Baby Boomer generation-the 78 million people born between 1946 and 1964-turn 61 this year, but this is only the beginning of the "elder boom" that will occur as this generation ages. These patients will need specialty care from a health system that already has had serious difficulties running efficiently without a large influx of seniors needing extra attention. Certainly quality initiatives and patient-safety programs underway could help lay a better foundation for the needs of the Baby Boomer generation. Part of the solution will have to come from technology, and innovations in remote and self monitoring are already underway.