One of the positive things that the coronavirus is leaving is the possibility of translating experiences into practical lessons, not only to prevent a future crisis, but to improve the entire spectrum of healthcare and the provision of services. Due to the crisis, healthcare experts have begun to think about the future of medicine and how to increasingly put the patient at the center of everything.

In building a patient-centered future, the pharmaceutical industry plays a key role, as it has to find ways to customize medicines, while researching and developing new tools and drugs. So, with these elements as a starting point, How will the pharmaceutical industry look like in 2030? How will research and development look like?

These were the questions answered by some industry experts on October 28th, during a virtual event organized by the European Data and Evidence Network (EHDEN). A general consensus on the importance of information – or data – for better and more timely development of medicines was also reached among experts. Artificial intelligence and the reformulation of clinical trials take part in the data collection.

Data: key point for change

During the virtual event, it was mentioned that by 2030, the pharmaceutical industry will be driven by three levels of integration: products and services as well as data and technology. Magda Chlebus, from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) team explained that these three aspects will have a positive impact on the patients’ experience, as they will allow to adapt the medicines and treatments to each patient.

Thus, research and development within the industry will be based on more real and accurate information. The idea is to develop a platform for clinical trials (a trial in which several treatments are tested simultaneously), “basket” clinical trials (when a drug is tested on patients with different types of cancer) and home clinical trials.

Moreover, the data will also help deliver “much more than just medicine,” added Magda Chlebus. It will allow an early detection, to find diseases before symptoms appear, and to give clues about the best way to treat each patient. To achieve this, you need data from other products and services besides the pharmaceutical industry. This will involve collaboration between different actors of the health sector, as we have seen during the coronavirus crisis.

However, in order to obtain all the necessary information to fulfill all the patients’ needs, it is necessary to learn how to measure it in the right way, explained Kai Langel, Janssen lead research technician.

Then, one of the tool, which will facilitate this measurement even more, will consist in approaching the patients and their private environments.

Indeed, it is in the day-to-day life where it will be possible to gather the most accurate information. In that sense, the correct data collection will allow the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), because “the bottleneck is not the information, but how it is documented,” added Langel.

The ecosystem around technological tools

There is no doubt that, in the 21st century, technology is evolving rapidly. In fact, today, “the tools we need to get closer to the patient are out there, but we haven’t provided them to the health care personnel,” declared Kai Langel. One of the tools that will be beneficial in the future is home clinical trials. Through telemedicine research has reached a more private setting.

In this regard, Elizabeth Vroom, president of the World Duchenne Organization, an organization that raises awareness about Duchenne disease, declared that by 2030 each patient will have a locker with his or her own information. The patient will then be able to acquire more power by deciding with whom and how he/she will share it.

But these changes do not happen overnight. It is necessary to raise awareness and above all, teach both patients and physicians the possibilities brought about by new technologies. Thus, “we must re-establish what is important to the patient and what is relevant. We cannot continue with general questions” added Vroom, who represents patients in the Netherlands healthcare industry.

We also need to take into account the learning stage for this new technology as well as the fact that patients have to understand that they will be able to control their treatments and their outcomes. According to Nigel Hughes, responsible of the EHDEN project, education will avoid any “digital fracture among patients, leaving out a group that cannot respond to the evolution”. The goal of the tools will always be to shorten the path to diagnosis and treatment as well as to create better results for all patients.

On the other hand, it is important to start implementing what has been created and move from the pilot testing stage. “It is not necessary to wait until the end of the pilot test to publish results. You can simultaneously start having conversations with doctors, donors and decision makers”, concluded Magda Chlebus.

2030 vs decision makers

In order for the pharmaceutical industry to bring innovation to each country, it needs to go through a regulatory agency. For a medicine to be approved, it is necessary to present a robust and complete information.

However, when this drug includes new technologies for its measurement, approval becomes even more complicated, because “although the technology moves quickly, integration into the decision-making spheres is painfully slow,” said Magda Chlebus of EFPIA.

This slow transition is due to the fact that no actor of the healthcare system possesses all the knowledge, therefore “it has to be co-created” added Chlebus. In 2030, this will require a constant dialogue between regulatory agencies, inventors and users, who will ultimately test these new technologies.

Vroom also explained that this will also allow the creation of a “post-marketing record” of each of the drugs, which will serve to understand what effects it has had on each patient. This will be a more holistic way of collecting data that regulators, the industry and patients can all benefit from.

Finally, in order to meet the 2030 goals, scientific research will have to start with the patient, because as Nigel Hughes explained, “today things work, but they won’t in the future”. Indeed, it is necessary to find common spaces for information, make it accessible to those who need it and work all together with the products and services of the health industry around the world. In short, the future of research and development depends on the adoption of a broader approach, which will include more actors and increasingly customized solutions.

source: https://fifarma.org/en/this-is-how-the-pharmaceutical-industry-will-look-like-in-2030/