The healthcare industry: a source of investment opportunities

The healthcare industry is an investment focus based on megatrends and sustainable in the long term, being even, one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations for the year 2030.

Investment in the digital health industry has grown considerably in recent years, since, during the last decade increased 12,600 million dollars globally, reaching 13,700 million, according to data from Statista.

Currently, healthcare industries account for between 10% and 15% of global GDP in advanced economies, a percentage that is expected to increase in the coming decades. The fact is that the world population will reach 9.2 billion people by 2050, of whom around 2 billion will be over 60 years of age, making it essential to make healthcare systems more efficient now.

In the United States, for example, 65% of healthcare spending corresponds to older adults and half of new drugs are related to aging. In addition, there is a wide range of unmet or poorly attended medical needs and many diseases, once fatal, have now become chronic.

In this regard, there are multiple projects for new treatments in biopharmaceuticals and medical technologies. There are currently around 7,000 drugs in development worldwide, two-thirds of which come from biotechnology.

Thus, the healthcare industry, which is based on long-term trends, will continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 7 to 8 percent.

Thematic investments

In the investment ecosystem, examples of thematic investing can be found in the fight against cancer or biotechnology, where efficacy, safety and the ability to meet societal needs through healthcare products and services are analyzed. There is also an area of opportunity in areas such as population aging and the integration of mental health into the healthcare system.

Another way of contributing to the health sector is through social infrastructure; in the construction of health centers and hospitals. On this aspect, there is an investment deficit since the financial crisis of 2008 that reaches more than 80 billion dollars in the European Union, out of a total of more than 165,000 corresponding to the deficit of investment in social infrastructure.