The pandemic has accelerated the use and implementation of digital technologies globally. So much so that in a survey performed by Verdict, 35% of respondents out of 482 polled, opined that the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry by five years. 

With a myriad of new opportunities in the wake of digital transformation, it is imperative to continue to prioritize the introduction of disruptive technologies in the pharmaceutical industry. These tools can help reduce costs along with improving transparency, production, drug discovery and enhance patient care.  

In addition, other ways the industry can evolve and revolutionize current practices through digital transformation include enhanced quality of  products, services, drug development, patient interaction, HCP engagements, research and a plethora of other areas within pharma.

The evolution of digital transformation in pharma 

If you’ve heard of the term “Industry 4.0”, you may be familiar with the narrative that pharma has been relatively slow to effectively adopt digital technologies.  For those unfamiliar, Industry 4.0 refers to the “fourth industrial revolution” which is set to revolutionize the way companies manufacture, improve and distribute their products. 

Many industries have capitalized and been at the forefront of these changes by integrating new technologies such as AI, machine learning (ML), cloud computing, analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT).  Commercial pharma as a whole may have had a little lag time but the impact made by these innovations have not gone unnoticed.

During the last couple years, this industry has been eager to adopt new tools and leverage AI and ML.  The clear benefits of using these innovative digital tools have sent waves through the pharma world and the industry has been open to conquering existing challenges to disrupt current practices.

Challenges aside, the pandemic has served as a catalyst for change. At ODAIA, we have seen a thirst for innovation and digital transformation from our clients.  The digital transformation of the past was process oriented, now it's completely data driven, with added value of predictive capabilities.We are helping provide customers with a competitive edge and continue to see interest skyrocket. 

What is happening right now and what challenges are the pharma industry facing?

The pharmaceutical industry has been forced to rapidly adopt numerous digital technologies to help overcome major hurdles that severely impacted healthcare and pharma worldwide. 

Delays in diagnosis, treatment, drug development in non-covid related disease areas, budget allocation constraints, limited access to providers, and supply chain disruptions are just the tip of the iceberg. 

That being said, it’s more important now than ever for pharma to continue to  adopt digital technologies and develop a strategy to maximize the potential these tools have to offer. Technologies that have opened the doors to telehealth care, decentralized clinical trials, remote work and more, but digital transformation goes beyond these innovations. Digital transformation also has the ability to evolve business models and help pharma companies better understand consumer pain points. Fortunately, big pharma has strengthened their position on the value of digital transformation as consumers and providers continue to vocalize expectations, wants and needs. 

As the pharma industry works toward further implementation and adoption of digital tools, a survey performed by Deloitte revealed that 82% of respondents believe digitalization of operations will continue post pandemic, yet 59% of them vocalized the need for a better digital innovation strategy.  Pharma companies must decide how they wish to incorporate innovation and invest time and funds needed to transform business areas and create value streams. 

Deloitte’s research further emphasized the importance of pursuing “leapfrog innovation” as a way to optimally engage patients and partners, recognize and meet goals at a quicker pace and help bring therapies to market faster. 

‍What does the new normal look like and what are the solutions? 

With more tools than ever at their fingertips, leaders in the pharma space are now faced with a new challenge: with an abundance of new tools to choose from, how do you know which will add value without spending an excessive amount of time and money to find out?

At ODAIA, we have spent years analyzing patient and physician  journeys using AI and Machine Learning to  predict behavior with a high degree of accuracy. 

Through time, we have included the analysis of several different but related data sources on our platform such as prescriber transactions, anonymized patient health claims data, population demographic and socioeconomic data, anonymized lab data, and more. This has allowed us to develop our SaaS platform MAPTUAL. 

MAPTUAL provides data-driven insights to help pharma companies connect with HCPs better, faster, and more effectively, so that the patients who need therapeutics receive them when they are needed most.  True digital transformation will intertwine the customer and consumer needs. 

‍How has MAPTUAL made an impact? 

We know speed, deployment, scalability and accuracy are needed to create flexibility for our customers to up-scale and down-scale brands and projects as business objectives reprioritize. One of our core pillars for MAPTUAL is trust. Providing accuracy and transparency for the user is of great importance and a focal point for all of our products. 

In a recent engagement with a top 10 pharma company, MAPTUAL delivered 91% accuracy on new-to- brand- prescriptions (NBRx) volume within 1 unit, and 98% accuracy within 3 units, when predicting 6-months in the future. Additionally, total prescriptions (TRx) volume predictions had a 90% accuracy within 8 units. These predictions were on an individual HCP level, meaning MAPTUAL delivers predictive insights that are extremely accurate.  

The NBRx and TRx volume predictions are evaluated based on Absolute Error (AE), which explains the difference between the predicted and actual 6 month average script volume. As our products continue to evolve, we will continue to provide case studies, tips, and welcome feedback.