Every Industry Has a Legacy Format
- DVDs → streaming
- Cash → digital payments
- Film → digital photography
Each was once dominant.
Each became obsolete.
Pharma has its own legacy format:
The tablet.
Why It Survived
Not because it’s optimal.
Because it’s:
- Cheap
- Familiar
- Scalable
And deeply embedded in infrastructure.
Why It Won’t Last
The pressure is building:
- Complex molecules
- Personalised medicine
- Ageing populations
- Patient expectations
The tablet cannot meet all of these simultaneously.
The Transition Moment
We are entering a phase where:
- Delivery matters as much as discovery
- Experience matters as much as efficacy
- Precision matters as much as scale
The Replacement
The next dominant format will:
- Maximise absorption
- Enable flexible dosing
- Remove friction
It will feel obvious in hindsight.
The Inevitable Conclusion
The question is not:
“Will tablets be replaced?”
It is:
“What replaces them—and who leads that shift?”