But first, here’s your Quote of the Day: “The pharmaceutical industry and the practice of medicine are muddled in many people’s minds who believe that the industry exists to make available medicines to those who need them. The broader public does not only does not understand market pressures, it doesn’t want to.”

If that doesn’t set you right, what would? That’s from a report being issued today by PharmaFutures, an adhoc group of pharma execs and pension fund managers who held a pair of brainstorming sessions recently to sort out the problems and challenges facing drugmakers. And they don’t like what they saw.

Their concerns? Demands from patients and payers for less expensive meds. Ethical issues with testing drugs in emerging markets where the benefit may not be realized. Unproductive R&D, which leads to a reliance on expensive marketing and high pricing. The issue, of course, is securing the best returns possible while ensuring the industry’s long-term viability.

“The project…knows the difficulties facing companies who wish to depart from sector norms without the support of key investors. And it knows that investors in turn need to understand better the challenges industry leaders face and how to recognise and reward appropriate leadership to tackle them.”

If that’s the case, are the funds willing to forego quarterly guidance? That’s what another group is promoting. Although whether that’s one answer or simply a license to take liberties is unclear.