Industries we serve Pharmaceuticals
Industry Overview
Half a century ago, it was enough for the pharmaceuticals industry to manufacture drugs that prevented or treated diseases. Today its mandate is much wider. As biotech expands its horizons to complement pharmacology with MedTech, and healthcare practitioners interact more deeply with Data Science to unlock breakthrough insights, the global pharmaceuticals industry has attracted more power and more accountability.
Today, the industry directly affects the lifespan and quality of life of billions of individuals worldwide through a combination of innovative drug discovery, generic manufacturing, and over-the-counter products.
Business leaders — while equipped with an ever-expanding pool of choice, also contend with the risk of ill-timed investments, prolonged drug approval cycles, and cross-jurisdictional regulation. In the past, the industry was managed by a clearly bifurcated workforce of highly skilled R&D scientists on one side, and a more generalized talent pool of sales professionals on the other. As the pharmaceuticals industry braces itself for global market expansion, its talent will need to be consolidated across specialized skills. This will become a leadership imperative.
Prevention & CureKey Opportunities & Challenges for the Pharmaceuticals Industry
The widening gap between escalating R&D costs and low clinical trial success rates is an urgent incentive to discover cost-and-time effective solutions in the healthcare space.
AI and predictive analytics are just two examples of how technology can be used to accelerate drug discovery, clinical trials, and patient engagement. Now, with recent breakthroughs: AI-assisted preventive diagnoses, sophisticated drug simulations and more, embedding data-backed systems into pharmaceutical solutions gains new force. As with all solutions dealing with sensitive data, robust data security and privacy compliance must be ensured through a sound data management platform. Thus, pharmaceutical business leaders of the future will need to develop new digital competencies in themselves and their teams.
Pharmaceuticals are already among the most regulated industries in the world. The approval process is already rigorous and time-consuming, adding to the time and cost spent on drug development. Now, business leaders also need to heed concerns about drug pricing and affordability. This has a direct impact on R&D capacity and revenue streams. The industry will need proactive, specialized compliance talent to scan the regulatory radar.
Many blockbuster drugs are facing patent expiration, leading to a rapid inflow of low-priced, generic alternatives in the market. This ‘patent cliff’ results in significant revenue loss for originator companies. To successfully address this risk, pharmaceutical leaders need to make challenging decisions on which innovation areas to focus on, and how to secure investments to make these innovations self-sustaining. Fortunately, equipped with adequate capacity development and industry knowledge, this challenge can become a lasting opportunity.
Thanks to multilateral agency agreements, public healthcare spending, and increased consumer awareness, pharmaceutical products have become more accessible to more consumers worldwide today than ever before. The challenge is to see how well-prepared businesses are with the right talent to take advantage of this exciting opportunity. Pharmaceutical executives who demonstrate combined expertise in data science, biotechnology, and regulatory affairs are in high demand, and competition to secure this talent will remain intense. Businesses need to develop capacity with knowledge-building resources now to keep attracting the best talent.
Although the global pharmaceutical industry remains famously competitive, regulatory and industry dynamics have changed the nature of this competition. Often, small pharmaceutical businesses have a very short window to launch new drugs into the market. Instead of wasting already-scarce resources on competing with similar-sized businesses, we will see them pooling in resources, sharing product costs and profits. Consulting Insights will enable pharmaceuticals to protect their core strengths while identifying the best partners for such campaigns.
Recognizing the centrality of mental health in patient treatment, healthcare can no longer be defined as a purely physiological space. On the one hand, psychotropic drugs are a maturing segment unto themselves that buffer the industry from risks like the patent cliff. On the other hand, treatment under ‘wellness’ is defined very generally, which means pharmaceuticals now compete with a much broader universe of providers for the same treatment. This has deeper implications with respect to complementary treatment, pricing of pharmaceutical ‘products’ and wellness ‘services’ as well as regulation. Business leaders must analyze the relationship between growth in the wellness industry and their own strategic direction, with assistance from expert insights.
Traditionally, drugs and devices form two separate divisions of pharmaceutical business. In the future we are likely to see their gradual convergence. In specific patient categories, real-time drug tracking and remote dose adjustments through specialized devices have already been successfully tested. In the future, more patient categories may come to depend on such solutions. Once again, successful business leaders will gain intelligent insights into markets, regulatory and social trends, and weigh these against their own organizational objectives to make the most of this opportunity.
Following a wave of scandals, drug regulators across many jurisdictions have restricted how pharmaceutical companies promote their products: From limiting interactions with healthcare practitioners (HCP) to redefining relationships with intermediaries like co-pay and insurance companies, pharmaceuticals are under closer scrutiny than ever before. Infringements – regardless of their magnitude – make them liable towards penalties and fines and incur long-term damage on brand value and reputation.
For perceptive leaders, these restrictions will be liberating: With reduced pressure to spend on HCP hospitality and other indirect promotion, they will gain freedom to promote their drugs on the strength of formulation and efficacy alone. For pharmaceutical teams focused on specialty drugs or niche patient segments, this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Civil Society’s demands for more transparency in pharmaceutical compliance yields internal benefits too: Obliged to publish spending, pharmaceutical businesses will gain sharper visibility into fund flow, asset, talent and drug performance by investing in a robust pharmaceutical compliance Business Intelligence Solution and team training.
Insights on BI dashboards will provide a precise snapshot of each aspect of the business, enabling quicker and more confident decision-making. Visibility into value chain activity – such as HCP and insurance companies’ receivables’ management through analytics-based solutions will also help business leaders identify delays and trim excess fat out of payment processes. Central to the success of this measure is ensuring pharmaceutical teams have the necessary knowledge and skills to utilize such solutions.
PERLUXI’s Perspective
At PERLUXI, we foresee pharmaceuticals moving beyond traditional ‘pill-for-ill’ models towards a more digitally enabled ecosystem that is focused on preventive care and is defined by precision medicine and patient-centricity.
This view is supported by several trajectories:
Customized Healthcare Systems
With the right combination of talent, pharmaceutical businesses will maximize investment returns in genomics, AI, and real-world data. In doing so, they will drive down costs while developing highly targeted therapies and personalized treatment plans, moving away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach.
Integrated Digital Health Solutions
Comprehensive patient care will move from aspiration to reality as digital health tools, wearables, and remote monitoring are fully integrated into therapeutic offering. Pharmaceutical businesses should develop the right competencies in financial planning, communication and supply chain management within their teams now through targeted training programs, as the competition for such talent will only intensify in the future.
AI-Driven R&D Acceleration
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will revolutionize drug discovery, target identification, compound optimization, and clinical trial design, rapidly reducing development timelines and costs. Business leaders will need to aggressively dispel the false dilemma between innovation and responsible AI development. They will need to provide the supportive tone-at-the-top that remodels existing practices to attract talent that can steer AI safety with the same speed and aggression as AI capabilities. In many cases, this will mean developing internal talent with cross-functional skills that build on a shared foundation of scientific knowledge, industry acumen and technology skills.
Value-Based Healthcare Models
The global pharmaceutical industry is headed towards an era of enhanced accountability: Leaders will need to deepen partnerships with payers and providers to prove the real-world efficacy and economic value of their products, as society moves to outcomes-based pricing and value-based care.
ESG (Environment, Society, Governance) Concerns
Climate change is already beginning to reshape trade routes. Now pharmaceutical businesses will need to scrutinize related challenges—such as warehousing solutions in the case of rising temperatures, abrupt weather changes and their impact on drug efficacy. Blockchain and advanced analytics solutions can go a long way in bringing the transparency needed to make these decisions. Pharmaceutical teams need to take a methodical approach towards incorporating these uncertainties into future drugs and new markets.
Positioned at the crux of capacity-building, sophisticated digital solutions and emerging technology, PERLUXI navigates pharmaceutical businesses through the peaks and troughs of industry changes to help them maximize returns on investment, resources – and the strongest asset of all – human talent.
Case StudyOptimizing Clinical Trial Recruitment for a Rare Disease Drug
Client: A mid-sized pharmaceutical company focused on orphan drugs.
Challenge: The client was developing a novel drug for a rare genetic disorder. The client faced severe challenges in recruiting a sufficient number of eligible patients for Phase III of the clinical trial within aggressive timelines. Traditional recruitment methods were proving ineffective due to the rarity of the condition and the dispersed patient population. Delays in recruitment led to substantial cost overruns and pushing back the planned market launch.
PERLUXI’s Approach:
- Data-Driven Patient Identification: We consolidated advanced analytics and real-world data (RWD) from de-identified patient registries, electronic health records (EHRs), and genetic databases to effectively identify potential patient cohorts in compliance with patient privacy rights.
- Digital Engagement Strategy: We designed and implemented a multi-channel digital engagement strategy, including targeted online communities, patient advocacy group partnerships, and specialized social media campaigns to engage potential participants and their caregivers.
- Site Optimization & Support: We worked with clinical sites to streamline their patient screening processes, provided training on digital recruitment tools, and offered ongoing support to address recruitment bottlenecks.
- Patient Journey Mapping: We meticulously mapped the patient journey for individuals with the disorder, identifying key touchpoints and barriers to trial participation. With this, we were able to tailor our support mechanisms and communication.
- Technology Integration: We assisted the client in integrating a secure, patient-friendly online pre-screening portal and a communication platform, enabling easier access and information sharing for potential participants.
Outcome
Within 6 months, PERLUXI’s intervention led to:
acceleration
In patient recruitment rates for the Phase III trial.
Reduction
In overall recruitment costs compared to initial projections.
Successful Enrollment
Of the required patient cohort, allowing the client to stay on track for the regulatory submission timeline.
Enhanced patient engagement
And a more positive trial experience, contributing to higher retention rates.
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Next Steps
Is your business also facing a seemingly unsolvable problem in the pharmaceuticals industry? If yes, this is an excellent time to connect with PERLUXI!
In a no-obligation strategy session, a PERLUXI expert will work with you to explore how our solutions in digital transformation, analytics, process redesign and/or capacity development will enable your business to reach the next level of growth!