“COVID-19 has accelerated the application of data and digital in drug development. I expect 2021 will see increased utilization and acceptance of both real-world data and digital tools in 'normal' circumstances given our reliance on them during the pandemic." These sentiments of Anne Heatherington, head of the Data Sciences Institute, Research & Development, at Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., were broadly shared.
“The future of biopharma will be significantly impacted by greater and more sophisticated use of data and technology. Advanced analysis of historical clinical trial data allows for real time optimization of industrial processes and personalized treatments. Combining data like these with those from the complex multi-omics that represent the total physiology of a human will lead to increasingly more precise tools, enabling greater discovery of new therapeutic targets and more possibilities of precision intervention. One such tool is simulation, which will increasingly give us a greater reflection of reality,” said Mimi Keshani, vice president of operations at deep tech startup Hadean.
“It is inevitable that someday all drugs and medical devices will undergo a series of in silico (virtual) trials before animal or human ones can begin, and it’s possible it could be the only trial necessary," she said. “In 2021 we expect to see regulation beginning to catch up to this idea, with the FDA already signaling a mandate may be coming soon. These innovative solutions are also contributing towards the wider influence of preventative methods. With more vaccines and curative therapies available, drugs used in the treatment of these diseases will in turn be less in demand in the future and forward looking firms will already be looking to adapt their business models. On top of all of this, COVID has caused an unexpected increased need for remote services, adding a further weight to technology. Digital therapeutics, telemedicine and remote monitoring through wearables will continue to boom as people look to access health care away from the clinic.”
Noticeably, the pandemic has helped move digital possibilities into actualities.
“For years, biopharma companies have had chief digital officers or digital strategists presenting the vision of what the future may bring for biopharma with the application of digital health technologies – but until 2020, this has been mostly hypothetical, with most companies finding it difficult to define a practical commercial strategy for value creation with digital health tools," said Michael Seggev, chief commercial officer of artificial intelligence-based health technology company Vocalis Health. "But as a result of COVID, the reality on the ground today has rapidly changed, and the barriers have fallen; we now have physician acceptance, customer demand, technological readiness and reimbursement approval for digital health technologies, and smart biopharma players will move quickly to implement and experiment with these technologies.”
Raj Kannan, CEO of Chiasma, Inc., which took its first medicine to market in 2020, also foresaw change – specifically around product launches. "While it is too soon to evaluate the full impact of the pandemic on drug launches, the traditional 'launch model' of a 'one-size-fits-all' may evolve to a hybrid model. Digital and quality remote engagement will continue to become increasingly important while simultaneously encouraging a local, digital and personal engagement launch strategy," he said.
Lisa Anson, CEO, Redx Pharma Plc, on the other hand, focused on the possibilities for R&D: “Sophisticated medical approaches and AI technologies, such as the protein structure at DeepMind, will continue to impact research in a meaningful way,” she said. UK-based DeepMind, an AI subsidiary of Google’s Alphabet Inc., has developed a tool to predict the 3-D shape of a protein based on its amino acid sequence, something that could enhance our understanding of disease and improve and speed up drug discovery.
For more predictive content, visit our Outlook 2021 pages: invivo.pharmaintelligence. informa.com/outlook