How Patient-Centricity Leads to #Innovation

“We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear.” (George Merck, 1950)

Let’s Explain Innovation First

“Innovation” has become a buzz word recently and it means many things to many people. For example, every new app or a new technology is deemed an innovation. Yet there is a big difference between an invention and an innovation. Invention is simply something new – but it may not be useful or adding much value. For example, some statistics indicate that 90% of technological inventions are never broadly adopted by a market. An invention becomes an innovation when it is broadly used and leads to a commercial success. In other words, an innovation must provide an added value, both to customers and to a company. According to Business Dictionary, “Innovation is the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay.”

There are many methodologies, which can help to create innovative solutions. Yet at the core of all of them lie two key processes: 1/ getting to know the customer and identifying their “pain points”, and 2/ creating an offer that alleviates a “pain point” in the most simple and user-friendly way. Creating a patient-centric innovation is no different and the same process can be applied.

How to Identify Patient’s Pain Points?

Let’s not forget that patients are people and must live with their disease every single day, managing symptoms and therapies like they manage other issues in their lives. In market research we sometimes focus too narrowly on diseases and people’s experiences as patients, without understanding a broader context of their lives. Secondly, classical surveys appeal to rational thinking, leaving out the emotional aspects of decision making. This may become a serious limitation in understanding a full picture.

Fortunately, there are several ways in which we can identify true, sometimes hidden patient’s needs.

We can start from analyzing social media, where people share their authentic thoughts and opinions. Regular monitoring of public forums and social media channels for disease- and treatment-related discussions may shed light on patients’ (mis)understanding of their disease, key unanswered questions or challenges in disease management.

Ethnographic research is another very powerful tool to get deep insights into patients’ lives and pain points related to diseases management. It allows to observe patients in their natural environment, to conduct in-depth interviews and to use projection techniques. As a result, we may not only understand what patients think, but also how they feel and what they really do (as opposed to what they declare that they do). Such studies provide very deep insights into patient’s beliefs, attitudes and actions.

And finally, close cooperation with patient advocacy groups can provide lots of information about the reality of living with a disease and identify pain points related it, to treatments and to interactions with the healthcare system.

Recent advances of behavioral economics can help to analyze study findings. Behavioral economics is a fast-developing area of science, which studies effects of psychological, social, cognitive, and emotional factors on decisions of individuals.

Quantitative studies, which should follow techniques listed above, can greatly contribute to prioritization of pain points and lead to development of most impactful innovative solutions.

Organizing Patient’s Insights

The next step is to identify relevant “moments of truth” – in other words, the most important insights that are actionable and will lead to value innovation. They may relate to any stage of disease awareness, prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and sometimes the most important “moments of truth” appear before the first contact with a healthcare system. These “moments of truth” are sources of innovative solutions, so should be chosen wisely – they need to lead to differentiation and profitability for a company, as much as to satisfying medical needs.

Secondly, it is important to understand how patients are currently dealing with these paint points and where they go to find information and advice. This process should be very granular, as for each pain point patients may be seeking information somewhere else. For example, they may talk to friends and conduct Google searches if they are unsure what is happening to them and if their symptoms are serious enough to justify a doctor’s visit but would go to WebMD or call a nurse provided by their insurance company for more information about a prescribed therapy.

How to Develop Patient-Centric Innovations

Patient-centric innovations can be developed at any stage of product development or commercialization. In biopharma and medical device industry we are reasonably good in developing innovative products. However, at research and development stage we can also innovate around clinical trials, increasing patient enrollment and retention, simplifying procedures, and maybe adding endpoints that are relevant for patients, even though not necessary for a regulatory approval.

 At market development stage we can innovate around disease awareness and education, such as finding more impactful ways to develop and deliver educational programs. For example, working with patients as advisors may improve storytelling and engagement with educational content through social media.

 At product commercialization stage, we may add solutions that help patients adhere to therapy through patient support programs or connect them with sources of information and motivation to adjust their lifestyle.

Case Studies

Examples are the best way to illustrate how we can turn patient-centricity into innovative solutions, so let’s review a few of them.

1.      Novo Insulin Pen. In 1985, based on insights from patients about difficulties in using vials and needles in self-injections, Novo introduced the first insulin pen. The solution was broadly adopted because patients really wanted a more discrete and comfortable delivery system. As a result, not only Novo’s market share increased, but also health outcomes improved, as it was easier for patients to follow a prescribed dosing schedule. Insulin pens are now the standard of care for all insulin manufacturers. You can see modern Novo Nordisk insulin pens here:

2.      Rehability Wheelchair Improvement. The second example is also related to product development. Rehability, a German company, was struggling in a commoditized market of wheelchairs, where focus was on price and standardization. Their strategic move was to focus on patient needs and create a traction device, called “MySlave”, which made patients’ lives much easier. It turned a wheelchair into a bike, adding a small electric engine and a wheel in front. In addition, their product communication, based almost entirely on videos, focuses on lifestyle benefits, not just product features. The device was broadly adopted and put the company on a trajectory of growth.

3.      Cialis vs. Viagra. Marketing communication can also be very innovative and lead to unlocking a new demand. Pfizer launched Viagra in 1998 and created an erectile dysfunction market. Viagra was a big commercial success and a subject of love-and-hate media focus for many years, successfully defending its market share against Bayer’s Levitra. Viagra communication targeted men and was focused on functional benefits of the drug, such as efficacy and safety. When Lilly conducted focus groups with patients, they found out that Viagra was viewed as a drug for dating men and missed the opportunity to appeal to couples in committed relationships. Cialis had one functional advantage – a longer duration of action, allowing once a day dosing (as opposed to on demand dosing of Viagra) and therefore more appropriate for spontaneous intimate behaviors. This product feature combined with patient insights, led Lilly to developing a very different communication campaign – their ads targeted women and positioned Cialis for committed relationships, unlocking a new demand in the ED market. Cialis has been perceived as a drug helping with romance and intimacy, not just helping people to have sex. In 2012, Cialis overtook Viagra as a leading ED medication in the US market.

There are many other examples of companies acting on patient insights and developing solutions that changed disease treatments forever. In the comments section, please add your examples so that we can continue to learn about patient-centricity approaches leading to innovations in our industry.

“Exploration is the engine that drives innovation” (Edith Widder, marine biology scientist)

Be curious and keep exploring ??

References:

1. Business Dictionary accessed on March 24th, 2018 at Business Dictionary - Innovation
2. W. Chan Kim, R. Mauborgne “Blue Ocean Shift. Beyond Competing” Hachette Books (September 26, 2017)      
3. Rehability website https://www.rehability.de/ accessed on March 24th, 2018.
4. Kurian M. Tharakan “Sex or Romance? How Cialis Outsmarted Viagra” at https://strategypeak.com/sex-romance-cialis-outsmarted-viagra/ accessed on March 24th, 2018.