News and Insights

Now More Than Ever: Why BioPharma Companies Must Live The Moral of Their Story

May 13, 2025

In a time of growing political polarization, public distrust and mounting pressure on the health systems, biopharma companies face a defining moment. It’s no longer enough to pursue and manufacture innovation for its own sake. Today’s patients, payers, policymakers and providers are asking: What do you stand for? The companies that will earn lasting trust are those with the courage to engage and answer that question—not just with taglines and ad campaigns, but with actions grounded in belief.

In short: now, more than ever, it’s critical for pharmaceutical companies to rediscover—and boldly live—the moral of their story.

The System Is Fractured—and People Feel It

Health is personal. But today, the politics of health overshadow the medical miracles innovation creates. The conversations happening across the U.S.—about drug pricing, reproductive rights, vaccine mandates, access to care and even scientific credibility—are exposing a deepening divide between the Beltway and the medical community charged with people’s care. And biopharma companies are squarely in the spotlight.

Trust in the industry has declined year after year. Policymakers are proposing new regulations. Social media is amplifying misinformation. And everyday people—those who rely on medicine to manage chronic conditions, treat serious illness or simply live well—are wondering if the companies behind their treatments truly have their best interests at heart.

In this environment, staying silent is not neutral. It’s negligent.

The Brands that Stand Up for What They Believe Will Be the Ones that Lead

We are living in what many call the “belief-driven economy.” People don’t just want to know what your company makes, they want to know what your company stands for. They may even discard fact for feelings.  And in no sector is that belief more important—or more scrutinized—than health.

This is especially true in biopharma. Because if you’re developing treatments for cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease or rare diseases—if your work determines who gets better, who gets access and who gets left behind—then the stakes aren’t just business; they’re human. People deserve to know they are the priority and not just shareholder expectations. And they deserve to see it in everything you do.

The Moral of the Story Matters More Than Ever

For years, I’ve talked and written about the idea that every brand needs a “moral of the story.” A simple, belief-driven statement that guides behavior, builds trust and inspires action. It’s not a tagline. It’s a truth. One your brand must live by.

For biopharma companies, this moral is the difference between being viewed as a profit machine and being trusted as a partner in public health.

Let’s take Johnson & Johnson (J&J)—a company that’s seen both praise and pressure over the years. Its credo, written in 1943, is still one of the most powerful purpose documents in corporate America. To me, their moral is clear: “Unwavering care builds a healthier world.”

This moral explains why J&J invests heavily in long-term research. Why they advocate for global health equity. Why they have, at times, spoken out or stepped up when others stayed quiet.

That’s the power of a moral. It gives you a compass (and, in turn, public respect) in times of complexity.

Belief Is Only Real When It’s Backed by Action

Having a moral is a start. But living by it is what counts. We’ve seen examples of this across the industry—companies that have taken bold, sometimes unpopular stands because their values demanded it:

• Hey Jane believes that control over your body is the foundation of freedom. That is why they stand up for reproductive rights by continuing to provide or support access to essential medications, even in restrictive states.
• Gilead Sciences believes that breakthroughs can only be measured by the impact they make. This is demonstrated by their royalty-free voluntary licensing agreements with six generic manufacturers to produce and distribute Lenacapavir — an HIV prevention drug — in 120 low- and lower-middle-income countries, expanding global access to care.
• Roche believes that science only matters if people trust it. One way they demonstrate this is by leading the industry in clinical trial transparency — proactively publishing trial results, including negative outcomes and creating plain-language summaries to make findings accessible and understandable to people around the world.

These aren’t just corporate reputation PR moves. They’re beliefs in action.

On the flip side, we’ve also seen what happens when companies stay silent in the name of “not taking sides.” Silence, especially now, is interpreted as complicity. It erodes trust. It suggests that market share matters more than people’s lives.

Why This Moment Demands Moral Leadership

We are at an inflection point in health—one where people are exhausted, overwhelmed and skeptical. They want to believe that someone is still fighting for their health. But belief requires evidence.

Biopharma companies have the tools, the reach and the responsibility to lead. But to lead in today’s world, you must do more than know your purpose—you must show it.

That means balancing business objectives and strategy with the need to support science in the face of misinformation. That means advocating for equity, because those sick and unable to access innovative care become sicker and more expensive to the nation’s dwindling safety net. That means demonstrating that people and profits aren’t a tradeoff.

Strategy and the Antidote to Apathy

There’s an old adage that goes, “Character is what you do when no one is watching.” But today, in an omnichannel world, everyone is watching. And that’s not a reason to retreat; it’s a reason to rise.

The biopharma companies that will earn that trust—the ones that will find a path to navigate political pressure, market volatility and public scrutiny—are those that root their story in something real. Something meaningful. Because when your company is driven by belief, you stop marketing to people and start mattering to them.

And in health, that may be the most powerful medicine of all.