Future trends in the pharma industry - The responsibility of change

Yuri Gagarin, the first man sent in space aboard the Vostok in 1961, recounts an emotional moment when he stared out one of the small windows of his space capsule and was the first man in the history of humanity to see planet earth floating in space. He was mesmerized, in absolute silence, in his little capsule floating in space. In such absolute silence that he started hearing a repetitive knocking sound… …and it took him a minute to realize that what he was hearing was in fact the sound of his own heartbeat.

It takes a special set of circumstances to hear one’s own heartbeat.

The pharmaceutical industry has seen a seismic upheaval in the last two years, caused by the arrival of the Covid coronavirus. But for the first time we are starting to find the pulse of this important and vital industry, to hear its heartbeat.

Five major trends are slowly profiling themselves that will affect the pharmaceutical industry in the few years to come.

1)???Coronavirus vaccine development

2)???Digital transformation of the medical industry

3)???Acceptance of biosimilar therapies

4)???Personalized breakthrough therapies

5)???A shift in perception about healthcare?

The race for Covid vaccines, and for the dissemination of the vaccines, has just started in earnest. BE THE FIRST! was the original rallying cry for the industry, but we are now beyond that. The real race for the next five years will be acceptance and distribution of the Covid vaccines.

The importance of social media

“For the first time in the history of the medical industry, the efficacity of a medication is judged by those who are not using it”

Unfortunately for the pharmaceutical industry, social networks have become part and parcel of the reputation of Covid vaccines. Urban legends are born every day, flash fires are started every day, with the result that for the first time in the history of the medical industry, the efficacity of a medication is judged by those who are not using it. The anti-vax lobby is become more and more ridiculous and at the same time becoming more and more visible.

The main problem of the Covid vaccine is today a problem of distribution and availability. The perception of the great masses is that it is still complicated to be vaccinated. It is still a “process”. If any Tom, Dick, or Harry could get vaccinated at the pharmacy round the corner without having to jump through loops and make painfully long booking at uncertain dates using an overloaded internet booking service, the problem would already be resolved. The vaccine battle will be won by those who manage to make their vaccine available at a pharmacy round the corner, at day clinics, doctor’s offices, basically anywhere where it is convenient and fast to be vaccinated.

Everything that CAN be connected WILL BE connected…

Only a few years ago, when you bought a computer, you still had to ask the question: will it have internet? That question is today non-sensical. Duh, of course it will have internet. In the next 2 years, if a device is not “connected” it will be a dinosaur. Everything will be connected, and everything will generate data.

“You are my creator, but I am your master; Obey!”

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, 1818

We are still today shaking the ghost of data safety, and at the same time we are not “using” data, but rather creating data silos. A silo for banking, a silo for healthcare, a silo for vaccinations, a silo for insurance, etc. But the next logical and inevitable step is that all silos be merged into one so that all the data can be used for better life management.

We will be known as the generation that gave up our right to privacy, in exchange for an easier and practical lifestyle, generated by data mining and artificial intelligence. This new era in healthcare will allow us to transport data rather than transporting patients, the true definition of telemedicine. Artificial intelligence and digital transformation will allow us to punch through barriers and accelerate medical research to find cures for diseases before the diseases even exist.?

We are all shaking the ghost of data safety and invoking our right to privacy, but at the same time we are greedily accepting and absorbing new technologies and data-sharing platforms.

Biosimilars will be king…?

The popularity of biosimilars has been growing since 2018 and the arrival of the Covid vaccine has opened the mind of users to the idea of foreign biological solutions in their bodies. A biosimilar is a biological medicine that is highly similar and clinically equivalent to existing biological medicine. Biosimilars are being adopted now more than ever, particularly due to the fall in prices which makes these medicines more affordable.

It is important that biosimilar medicines reach the market around the world but again the question of distribution rises its head again. Biosimilars are heat-sensitive and one of the often-ignored parameters of the successful launch of a biosimilar is how the patient will be able to travel and transport his biosimilars. ?

Breakthrough therapies

E-Health is not a solution for everyone, but rather a solution for each and every one of us. It will allow more and more “personalized” solutions. Artificial intelligence and data mining is allowing us to delve into diseases which were historically ignored because of the intrinsic limitations of market size. Big data will allow us to build bridges between specific patients and pharmaceutical companies so that tailor-made solutions are developed for patients rather than blanket treatments.

What seemed like science-fiction a few years ago is now a near reality. Big data, artificial intelligence, DNA research, nanotechnology, 3D printing of body parts, robotics and stem cell research are all arriving at the same time, allowing the pharma industry to aim their guns towards rare diseases and single patients.

Shifting perceptions…

Perhaps the single most important side effect of the Covid crisis is the change of perception from the public at large towards the pharmaceutical industry. Historically, healthcare in developed countries has been a “right”. It should be “free”, it should be “readily available”. This has over the years caused an antagonistic attitude towards big pharma who are “profiteers”, “living of the diseases”, “making money from my diseases”, and generally an “untrustworthy bunch”.

The Covid crisis has brought to the fore the importance of good health. This has filtered through the unconscious perception of people and created an enormous amount of goodwill and respect for the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare workers who are now “life-savers” and “heroes”. This will long-term allow the pharmaceutical companies to build strong relationships with the users of their medicine.

But for the pharmaceutical industry to take advantage of this glorious future, it must watch, listen, and understand the needs of patients so that it can offer tailor-made solutions and what the patients need the most, which is relationships.

The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different from what we think, but it is important for us to realize that we are not just building the future of healthcare, but indeed the future of mankind.

Uwe Diegel

[email protected]

www.lifeina.com

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