Large pharmaceutical companies are feeling the pressure from competition with newer pharma companies, particularly in the experimental drug pipelines. These newcomers are gaining footholds in these verticals by building market share in one or two types of tumors or focusing on a technology that can eventually be used more broadly, said Nitin Chaturvedi, a London-based partner with Bain.

“It’s a very credible path to leadership,” Chaturvedi said. “The leadership created through one vertical can be expanded.”