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New Science

New Science: A new economic reality for growth

May 25, 2021

RESEARCH REPORT

In brief

  • A new economic environment is demanding change for biopharma’s, especially as New Science grows in prominence.
  • New Science, the combo of advanced science and tech, is expected to drive 81 percent biopharma revenue growth, but is more expensive to develop.
  • What if biopharma companies could tie profitability to innovation, growth, and better patient outcomes made possible by New Science?
  • It’s time to rebalance the treatment-cost equation from old ways of operating to new ways of discovering, developing and commercializing treatments.

How do you lead amidst change?

A new economic environment is demanding change in biopharma. When a global pandemic forced the industry into unprecedented action, the global scientific community collaborated in exceptional ways and public-private partnerships drove innovation to address a common need. Amidst this turmoil and grief, two highlights stand out: technology and science.

Technology enabled people to make the shift and work from home, care for patients at a distance, conduct clinical trials virtually and reconfigure supply chains.

Science enabled multiple COVID-19 vaccines to be developed in record time despite the remote working environment.

Can the biopharma industry continue to step up to create new pathways for innovation, access and affordability? How can we help address system and patient-level affordability issues while still advancing the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments for all health conditions?

New Science, a dynamic combination of the best in science and health technology is filling unmet needs with more precise and effective treatments—but often at a higher price tag.

Watch the videos to learn more from our leaders

New Science: A new reality for biopharma growth | Accenture

Biopharma: Changing the economic relationship with customers

New Science The new economics in biopharma

New Science: Billions to millions

What if you could find opportunities to tie profitability to improvements in patients’ health, rewarding the innovation and better outcomes from New Science?

The burden of investment in scientific innovation is born by all stakeholders but felt most deeply by patients. The goal must be maximizing return on that investment for patients, too.

We present three key arguments in support of this concept from our research:

New Science is more important than ever

Scientific innovation drives biopharma and as science has changed, so has the way we innovate. The way we measure benefits will now shape the future.

A new economic reality challenges profitability

It is no longer sustainable to pass increased costs to consumers. Biopharma’s feel pressure from governments, people and payers to reduce costs.

Success requires a future fit enterprise

In light of this new economic environment, the biopharma industry needs to consider a shift in how it creates, captures and shares value.

1. New Science is more important than ever

New Science is driving more growth than predicted, revitalizing operations and revealing new opportunities to innovate.

81%

New Science is projected to drive 81% of biopharma revenue growth and 61% of all revenues between 2021 and 2026, outpacing our previous forecast of 54% of all revenues from 2017-2022.

69%

expected higher average net present value (NPV) for New Science treatments versus traditional counterparts from 2022-2026.

76%

of all new deals intended to create new therapies in the last 5 years involved New Science treatments.

2. A new economic reality challenges profitability

Accelerated and irreversible private sector forces and the looming threat of policy and regulatory change have circled around the biopharma industry. The result? Biopharma is at an inflection point with pressure from all angles.

Even with more effective personalized treatments, there isn’t enough money in the system to pay for it. Here is what those pressures look like:

1. People can’t afford it

In the US, the average premium for family coverage has increased 22% over the last five years and 55% over the last ten years.

2. Governments struggle to manage costs

Healthcare spending reached nearly $4 trillion in 2019, more than 17% of US GDP accounting for 24% of government spending.

3. Payers feel the pain

Increased focus on financial consideration causes friction between pharmacy benefit managers, payers, HCPs and patients.

3. Success requires a future-fit enterprise to address both sides of the profitability equation

Many of the pressures we have outlined are not new, but the continued profit erosion by the private sector coupled with demographic shifts or policy-driven disruption, create a new catalyst for change. So, what should biopharma’s do?

We believe the industry needs to make a meaningful shift in how it creates, captures and shares value. To date, the industry has been resistant to evolve the business model significantly. However, change is on the horizon.

Addressing the profitability equation

We believe biopharma companies should approach this challenge from both sides:

First, reduce the cost of therapy development from billions to millions by riding the wave of innovation across development and commercialization that produced a COVID-19 vaccine in record time.

Second, find opportunities to redefine economic relationships with customers, capturing and sharing trapped value where it matters most.

To do so, we’ve identified five key levers that can rebalance the treatment-cost equation. These are greater adoption of:

Data-led drug discovery

Primarily influenced by advanced biomarker discovery capabilities with deep learning and multi-modal models.

Efficiencies of New Science

Include a greater likelihood of success, smaller patient cohorts, and overall genomic efficiencies.

Virtual, hybrid and decentralized clinical trials

Leverage in silico and digital twin capabilities to enable near-to-patient trials using digital technology.

Regulatory innovation

Creates opportunities to leverage more efficient protocols and new ways to balance safety/risk profiles.

Virtualized selling

Will bring savings along with removing excess from sales forces.

When considering a broader horizon, we believe biopharma should step forward to find opportunities to shape the market, not just react to it. The healthcare ecosystem is changing at an unprecedented pace. In addition to redefining economic relationships where it matters most, biopharma companies can and will continue to play an active role in shaping the future.

Closing thoughts

New Science has the potential to make medicine vastly more precise and effective, but will its price tag keep it out of most people’s reach? We believe we can help address system and patient-level affordability issues, while still powering the discovery, development and delivery of new treatments for all health conditions There are near term changes that can be made – must be made.

Meet the team

Petra Jantzer, PhD

Senior Managing Director – Global Life Sciences Lead
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Aman Bajaaj

Managing Director – Asia Pacific Life Sciences Lead

Brad Michel

Managing Director – Life Sciences Lead, North America
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Ray Pressburger

Managing Director – Accenture Strategy, Commercial, Sales and Marketing, Life Sciences
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Elizabeth Ferguson-LaChance

Senior Manager – Life Sciences, Business Strategy
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Selen Karaca-Griffin

Principal Director – Life Sciences, Global Research Lead
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