restricting the use of a product, communicating new safety information to the public, or, in rare cases, removing a product from the market.

Competition Among Branded Products

Many of our products face competition in the form of branded products, which treat similar diseases or indications. These competitive pressures can have an adverse impact on our results of operations.

The Global Economic Environment

In addition to the industry-specific factors discussed above, we, like other businesses, continue to face the effects of the challenging economic environment, which have impacted our biopharmaceutical operations in the U.S., Europe and Japan, and in a number of emerging markets.

• We believe that patients, experiencing the effects of the challenging economic environment, including high unemployment levels, and increases in co-pays, sometimes switch to generic products, delay treatments, skip doses or use less effective treatments to reduce their costs. Challenging economic conditions in the U.S. also have increased the number of patients in the Medicaid program (and the number will continue to grow as a result of the Medicaid coverage expansion effective in some states in 2014), under which sales of pharmaceuticals are subject to substantial rebates and, in many states, to formulary restrictions limiting access to brand-name drugs, including ours. In addition, we continue to experience pricing pressure in various markets around the world, including in developed European markets, Japan and in a number of emerging markets, with government-mandated reductions in prices for certain biopharmaceutical products and government-imposed access restrictions in certain countries. Furthermore, some government agencies and third-party payers use health technology assessments in ways that, at times, lead to lower prices for and restricted access to new medicines.

• We continue to monitor developments regarding government and government agency receivables in several European markets where economic conditions remain challenging and uncertain. For further information about our Accounts Receivable, see the “Analysis of Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” section of this Financial Review.

• Significant portions of our revenues and earnings, as well as our substantial international net assets, are exposed to changes in foreign exchange rates. We seek to manage our foreign exchange risk in part through operational means, including managing same-currency revenues in relation to same-currency costs and same-currency assets in relation to same-currency liabilities. Depending on market conditions, foreign exchange risk also is managed through the use of derivative financial instruments and foreign currency debt. As we operate in multiple foreign currencies, including the euro, the Japanese yen, the Chinese renminbi, the U.K. pound, the Canadian dollar and approximately 100 other currencies, changes in those currencies relative to the U.S. dollar will impact our revenues and expenses. If the U.S. dollar were to weaken against another currency, assuming all other variables remained constant, our revenues would increase, having a positive