New Science: A new economic reality for growth

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 use the lessons of the last year to help us 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.

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:

1. New Science is more important than ever

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

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:

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:

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 use the lessons of the last year to 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.