Life sciences companies should prioritize effective use of real-world data, smart drug pricing analysis, and deeper understanding of clinician decision journeys
Life sciences companies face challenges in drug development
Bringing new drugs to market has grown increasingly difficult and less profitable in recent years. Today, it costs an average of over $2 billion per therapy to develop a new drug, from discovery through clinical trials and to market, and the industry saw an increase of 15% in 2022. At the same time, return on investment has plummeted, dropping 62% to 1.2%, a number Deloitte reports as the lowest since it began annual reports on biopharma research and development (R&D).
But life sciences companies can counter these trends.
Success relies on taking advantage of advancements in clinical insights, but sourcing appropriate data and resources to support these insights can be time-consuming and budget-intensive.
Barriers to building clinical insights in life sciences
Clinical insights don’t come easily. In their efforts to integrate clinical insights into R&D and market strategies to improve efficiency in the drug development process, most life sciences companies will likely struggle in a few key areas:
- Understanding the clinician journey.
- Discerning market needs.
- Tapping into real-world data.
Understanding the clinician decision journey
When applying pharmaceutical solutions in patient care, clinicians go through a complex process that balances both science and personal insight. They generally walk through four steps, including:
- Determining probabilities based on symptoms and patient history.
- Gathering data through patient evaluation, including vital signs and physical exam.
- Updating probabilities based on information gathered from sources, including diagnostic tests.
- Considering an intervention to determine whether it crosses a treatment threshold.
Since the outcome of this process often includes consideration of pharmaceuticals, life sciences companies benefit from understanding of physician awareness, opinion, and knowledge of how pharmaceutical options play into clinician decision-making.
Discerning market and customer needs
Life sciences companies need deep understanding of their market to achieve success. This includes insights into the patient journey, developing roadmaps to optimize the value of drug products, and leveraging data to determine contracting and pricing strategies that properly address access, risk, and revenue potential.
Tapping into real-world data
Real-world data (RWD) and its role in creating real-world evidence (RWE) is an area of significant opportunity for life sciences companies. They have the potential to accelerate drug discovery, advance patient-centricity goals, and enhance the value that drugs offer all stakeholders. McKinsey estimates that in the three to five years after 2023, top pharmaceutical companies could “unlock” more than $300 million every year by applying RWE to the value chain.
