Pharma GBS must act like a business executive, not a task operator, to stay relevant

Pharma global business services (GBS) risks becoming irrelevant as its traditional focus on cost-cutting loses significance amid growing industry challenges. With patent expirations, supply chain disruptions, climate change, complex regulations, and the urgent need for AI and quantum computing to speed up drug launches, GBS must evolve. Sticking to manual processes, fragmented governance, and slow tech adoption, especially in AI, will leave it disconnected from the core business and its real priorities.

Pharma has a unique opportunity to pivot its GBS to a new intelligent enterprise archetype (see Exhibit 1) that aligns with enterprise strategies that are biased toward product speed to market, expansion of markets, and better risk management, all key components that will help pharma navigate and grow in the new reality while reframing GBS’s value proposition. However, 40% of pharma GBS is stuck in a legacy core back-office archetype, and the other 60% aligns with a slightly upgraded enterprise standardization archetype. These reflect low maturity compared to other industries, such as consumer goods, that have elevated their GBS game.

HFS Research, in partnership with EY, studied pharmaceuticals’ GBS vision, journey so far, and value proposition. The study was informed by approximately 100 interactions (surveys and interviews) with senior pharmaceutical decision-makers and GBS heads from some of the largest global pharmaceutical companies.

Exhibit 1: The pharma GBS journey is reflected through three archetypes: transition from current levels of maturity to the future state of possibilities

Source: HFS Research, 2025

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Explore additional insights from EY: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/industries/life-sciences