The drug sector is on the verge of a massive transformation that will create a new, outcome-centric industry, and it’s all being driven by technology, according to a report from Ernst & Young.
The pharmaceutical industry has invested substantially in developing smart phone apps, educational websites and social media platforms, suggesting the sector is looking beyond simply development and production.
The Ernst & Young report estimates non-traditional stakeholders—IT companies, retailers, telecoms and consumer products firms—have publicly committed to at least US$20 billion in experiments with Pharma 3.0-related business models.
“Growing pressures are already straining the global healthcare system, prompting payers in many markets—governments, insurance companies, consumers—to increase their focus on health outcomes,” explains Paul Karamanoukian, Ernst & Young’s Canadian life sciences practice leader. “As Pharma 3.0 changes the game rules across the industry, it’s also generating a unique opportunity in Canada.”
To ensure Canada plays a major role on the global stage, Karamanoukian says policymakers must:
- establish domestic policies to encourage innovation that generates new jobs;
- align Canadian regulations with those of other developed markets ;
- reclaim Canada’s place as a leader in research and development; and
- better protect intellectual property in Canada.
“Innovation is no longer just about the product,” says Karamanoukian. “It’s about how pharmaceutical companies do business, whom they do business with and how they mobilize their resources in this new patient-empowered, data-driven, outcome-focused health care landscape.”