Don't believe everything you read in pharmaceutical company annual reports. on the trend of digital therapies. I'll tell you a secret: between one aperitif and another during the exclusive meetings of the sector, CEOs indulge in confessions very different from their official speeches.
“We are afraid that Apple o Google enter our market,” whispers an executive at one of the top five global pharmaceutical companies. Another, staring into his glass, says, “We invest in digital therapies, but we have no idea how to actually monetize them.” The truth is that the pharmaceutical industry is at a historic crossroads, torn between the opportunity to reinvent itself and the risk of becoming obsolete.
The dangerous allure of artificial intelligence
The enthusiasm for theartificial intelligence is palpable globally, and pharmaceutical leaders do not want to be left behind. It is a technology they can get behind and are already implementing for many business activities. The traditionally long and laborious drug design process can become more efficient thanks to this innovation.
A shining example? The generative AI model developed by the collaboration between NVIDIA e Recursion Pharmaceuticals has demonstrated extraordinary abilities. He can analyze over 2,8 quadrillion molecule-target pairs in one week (yes, you read that right: quadrillions). A colossal saving of time compared to the 100.000 years it would take the traditional methods. It seems clear to me that no leader would want to be left out of this revolution.
Practical applications in the daily life of pharmaceutical companies are already a reality. The internal tool of Roche, Called Roche GPT, assists the company team in optimizing repetitive tasks and sharing knowledge. It also supports the business by automating the extraction of structured data from scientific articles and clinical trial results. A similar tool has also been implemented by Pfizer to support its marketing efforts.
Digital Therapies: The Missed Opportunities That Keep Executives Awake
Pharmaceutical executives know that the real competitive advantage afforded by digital therapeutics may not lie in flashy one-off pilots, but in quietly refining new business models. This is why many consider some seemingly niche trends as missed opportunities that deserve much more attention.
To better meet patient needs in the digital health era, executives are evaluating new reimbursement models.
An early example is the acquisition by Roche of the diabetes management app MySugr. It can pair with glucometers to automatically record blood glucose readings and improve condition management for diabetics. Also GSK made a similar move by collaborating with Propeller Health on smart inhalers, while Partners Healthcare Center and the Japanese pharmaceutical company Daichii Sankyo have teamed up to launch a connected wearable for patients with atrial fibrillation.
The Great Debate: High-Risk, High-Reward Trends
What keeps pharmaceutical executives up at night is what we might call “The Great Debate.” These are trends that could yield the greatest results, but carry high risks if they fail, given the high investment.
One of these trends concerns the In silico clinical trialsThese experiments are conducted through computer simulations, avoiding animal or human testing and being more time and cost efficient. Significant progress has been made in this area, such as the “organs-on-a-chip” developed by the Wyss Institute to emulate the complex structures and functions of the living human organs. Their technology has been exploited by Emulate Inc for efficient pharmaceutical development.
Digital therapeutics (DTx) refer to evidence-based software applications designed to prevent, manage, or treat medical conditions. Because they are typically accessed via smartphones or web browsers, they offer new levels of accessibility and privacy, while presenting minimal side effects. Pharmaceutical leaders see a future where DTx will be a central part of their business.
Digital therapies, the risk of “dangerous marriages” with tech giants
Another high risk/high reward trend is that of collaborations with tech giants. With the latter increasingly flirting with health and wellness, they have partnered with pharmaceutical companies on several projects.
An example is the partnership between Boehringer Ingelheim e Google to apply quantum computing in pharmaceutical research and development. This can give pharmaceutical companies a significant boost, even leading to mergers. However, there is a risk that such partnerships will fail, as demonstrated the collapse of 23andMe, who had collaborated with GlaxoSmithKline but he recently declared bankruptcy. On the other hand, executives fear helping future competitors learn the rules of their market, gradually making themselves obsolete.
Bottom line? Digital therapeutics aren’t just another passing trend. They’re a battleground where the future of the pharmaceutical industry is being decided. And executives know this all too well, even as they publicly continue to smile and talk about “innovative synergies” and “cutting-edge projects.” Privately, however, they wonder whether they are watching the dawn of a new era or the twilight of their industry as they have always known it.
