A view from the Center

Digitizing life sciences R&D, one step at a time

For a life sciences industry whose Research & Development (R&D) processes are often held over from the 1990s—and whose returns on those investments are falling sharply—new digital technologies might feel as if they can’t arrive fast enough.

Almost everywhere you turn, there seems to be an opportunity as outlined in Deloitte’s recent report,

Digital R&D: Four ways to maximize patient engagement in clinical trials

The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions recently interviewed 43 biopharmaceutical industry stakeholders to explore where the industry sees value and opportunities for using digital technologies in the clinical development process; understand reasons behind the relatively slow pace of digital adoption; and uncover strategies to overcome barriers and accelerate the use of digital in clinical trials.

Five barriers that could keep biosimilar manufacturers from cracking the US market

The biosimilars market in the US has lagged well behind the European market for more than a decade.1 While a recent push from the White House could help expand the use of biosimilars in the US, manufacturers could still face some significant challenges there.

In April, the administration released its “blueprint” for lowering drug prices and reducing out-of-pocket costs for US consumers.

The next generation of scientists are digital natives ready to problem solve and innovate

This week Deloitte and the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NLM) will recognize two student-led research teams from San Diego State University (SDSU) and Kingsborough Community College of The City University of New York (KCC CUNY) for their groundbreaking research in the Microbial Metagenomics Discovery Challenge.

The undergraduate students’ work was impressive by any standard.

Now you’re speaking my language: Value-based contracting should push health care stakeholders to understand each other’s business models and value drivers

We all want to offer better value to our customers. Pharmaceutical companies, health plans, hospitals and health systems, and physicians want to provide better health outcomes for lower costs to patients…and to each other. But to each stakeholder, the definition of value can be quite different. Before pharmaceutical manufacturers consider a value-based contract, they could benefit from becoming fluent in the language of each stakeholder and understand how each potential partner defines value.

Four market realities new pharmaceutical commercial models should consider addressing

The US pharmaceutical industry’s commercial market has historically been the Wild West. Under a fee-for-service environment, physicians and their patients made many of the care decisions with few restrictions. However, the changing health care landscape, including the move to a value-based health care system, has changed the ability of manufacturers to drive growth through the lever of price.