Wildcards

Unlike trends, which move along a path that we can see and extrapolate in terms of direction, uncertainties entail issues that cannot be reliably predicted at this point in time. We call them wildcards because each can rock the biosciences:

Societal and Political

Public acceptance of the biosciences?

A major new disease crisis or pandemic?

Impact of biotech rogue states?

Science and Technology

Raging success or major meltdown?

Role of complementary industries?

Intellectual property regimes?

Qualified staff for healthcare and research?

Business and Economics

Economic growth and global power shifts?

Venture capital and other funding sources?

Climate change and resource scarcities?