The pharma sector continues to develop new strategies and solutions around emerging technologies, contributing to another marquee year for digital advances in the field.
Earlier this month, IDEA Pharma, a U.K.-based consulting firm, released its seventh annual Digital Innovation Index at the 2023 CNS Summit, which ranks the top performing companies in the space and highlights standout achievements.
Across the board, IDEA noted that in the last year AI “moved from potential energy to realized value, touching nearly every aspect of pharma companies.” The industry also notched several firsts, including the rollout of new automated compliance software systems, innovative patient-care tools and the use of AI in language processing solutions.
And on a company level, AstraZeneca jumped from No. 10 in the ranking to the top spot thanks to its “multipronged approach, capitalizing the different facets of AI in unique collaborations to bolster its pipeline.”
Notably, the pharma giant recently launched its digital health spinoff Evinova, which will specialize in clinical trial optimization. The move is part of a broader shift in pharma to dedicate more resources to digital advances, and sometimes even commercialize solutions for the rest of the industry.
“Pharma has been trying to understand their role in digital health,” said Jacquiline Barendregt, chief operating officer at IDEA Pharma. “How do they create value with it? Some companies are focused on what kinds of digital tools can support their treatments. But AstraZeneca and Pfizer want to commercialize these different solutions. We see this trend getting bigger and bigger.”
As pharma companies explore different approaches to finding value in digital solutions, Barendregt said setting off on the right foot can determine the course for a winning strategy.
“Don’t just focus on the technology — focus on the patient outcomes you want to achieve,” she advised. “Then work backwards from there and ask [how you] can intervene, using what kind of technology.”
What were the most potentially valuable — and definitely impressive — advances IDEA found in pharma’s digital realm this year? Here are the top three Barendregt identified.
Finding disease risks hidden in patient notes
Each patient generates mountains of medical documents so voluminous and often so unorganized that red flags for disease go unnoticed. Late last year, AstraZeneca announced a “first of its kind” collaboration leveraging Clinithink’s AI platform to analyze these streams of data and hunt for signs of lung cancer.
“They have been able to use specific AI and natural language processing to interpret unstructured patient notes,” Barendregt explained.
Noting that survival rates for lung cancer can drop “drastically” from 90% in early stages to 20% when caught later on, the companies said in a statement announcing the partnership to develop a predictive AI model that can “flag high risk individuals at a much earlier, more treatable, stage of the disease, improving survival rates and driving down the intensity of treatment needed.”
Tracking patient movement in neuromuscular disorders
Roche, which nabbed the No. 2 spot on IDEA’s list, continued its “groundbreaking work in neuromuscular disorders” this year. In particular, Barendregt pointed to the company’s multi-year partnership with Sysnav Healthcare aimed at leveraging wearable technology and remote monitoring to track movements in patients with neuromuscular disorders.
“This approach changes care and how we measure motor function, but it’s really about offering dependable metrics,” Barendregt said.
Ultimately, the companies plan to use the tech to improve outcomes and “provide reliable objective metrics for motor function as a key digital disease endpoint,” IDEA said.
A stress management tool for atopic dermatitis
Described by IDEA as a “well-balanced digital powerhouse,” Pfizer came in fourth overall but placed first in research “due to its noteworthy investments in innovative apps and breakthroughs in rheumatoid arthritis and atopic dermatitis.”
This year, one of the company’s crowning achievements was the launch of a digital health solution with SideKick Health aimed at patients with atopic dermatitis. In addition to featuring gamification tools to boost adherence, Barendregt noted that its use of “behavioral psychology” focuses on “minimizing the episodes and helping patients through social engagements.”
“It focuses on thinking about the person more, rather than just the disease,” she said.
The app aims to include all atopic dermatitis patients — not just those taking a Pfizer treatment.
“It’s an unbranded app so you don’t need to be on a Pfizer product, but it is supportive in the background in terms of identifying triggers for flare-up episodes, or the need for stress management and medication adherence,” Barendregt said.
