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2022 Trends in Pharma Marketing
The pandemic has prompted pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers to rethink the way their businesses operate, including how the use of technologies and digital solutions can improve the customer experience. This article explores the top trends in 2022 to help devise the best digital strategies for pharmaceutical brands to stay competitive.
Arnold Leung, Founder & CEO, Appnovation
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It’s been nearly two years since the outbreak of COVID-19 began and we’re still in the midst of enormous disruptions to the world’s economies, businesses, education, and people’s lives. The pharmaceutical industry has been particularly disrupted. Previously, pharma companies suffered from a bad reputation. But following the emergence of the pandemic, they were thrown into the spotlight, suddenly having an important voice on the health of the world. Leaders in the pharma space were on the
front cover of every newspaper and magazine not because of scandal, but because of the lifesaving treatments they created. Media were hungry for their opinions on the best way to secure the health of the population amidst the global pandemic.
Patients used to be unaware of who manufactured the drugs that they take. Now, they are able to refer to pharmaceutical brands by name. This gives them a new and unique opportunity to engage directly with the patients whose lives they impact, something pharma brands have been challenged with previously.
How pharmaceutical brands do this is the basis for the following 2022 Trends in Pharma Marketing. Thanks to their important role in securing our health amidst the pandemic, digitisation strategies are no longer nice to haves for pharma companies, but must haves.
In 2022, pharma brands must take the lead in understanding their customers better, including their current needs and future expectations of healthcare services, in order to create a meaningful and beneficial health journey for their patients.
Here are three biggest digital pharma trends for 2022.
TREND 1: Patient-centricity
In the past, a seamless digital experience was considered the benchmark, but now it has become table stakes. With increasing digital disruption across a variety of industries, companies are revamping their existing businesses and operating models in order to stay competitive amidst the digital revolution. However, the ability to pivot with speed and accuracy to changing market dynamics without compromising experience isn’t just a function of technology alone. It requires every individual in the organisation to embrace agile practices and be inclined to test and learn.
Pharma industries are no different. Pharmaceutical companies need to take note when marketing their drugs – patients today require a more diversified approach to addressing their health problems. Mobile technologies, social media, the cloud, wearables and the Internet of Things (IoT) are just some of the realities that are disrupting healthcare today – and is the key to enabling a patient-centric approach.
What’s more? Investment in technologies to leverage the power of big data is now a prerequisite. That is indeed the only way to collect and appropriately utilise valuable insights from the vast and unmanageable pools of data currently out there in the health IT ecosystem.
In fact, some healthcare systems are already integrating datasets across the consumer or patient journey — from arrival at a hospital to check-ups, hospitalisation, treatment and hospital discharge — in order to enhance holistic care and management, not only reducing the need for long hospital stays but also to support early diagnosis and alternative treatments. However, this needs to be paired with a framework for managing data, and the privacy and security implications that come with it.
Yet, for those who are unwilling to take the first step and make the shift, they will eventually lose customers, profit and market share.
TREND 2: Personalisation in healthcare solutions
It is undeniable that the convergence of digital technologies is helping us lead longer, healthier and more empowered lifestyles. In Asia, in particular, the increasing awareness around health and wellness is giving rise to a diligent, discerning type of consumer class – one that is demanding more participatory, personalised and innovative approaches to healthcare.
Apart from this, it is evidenced that the pandemic has accelerated the need for healthcare to be delivered anytime, anywhere and ‘digital first’. The region has also seen strong growth in innovative technologies such as telemedicine, digital therapeutics and remote monitoring over the past few years. For instance, Ping An Good Doctor, a Chinese healthcare services platform, and MyDoc, a telemedicine platform headquartered in Singapore, have more than doubled their active users since 2020; China has repurposed an artificial intelligence model that was used to detect cancer to help isolate and diagnose potential COVID19 patients in under 10 seconds.
In reality, the entire healthcare ecosystem was already ripe for change. Even before the pandemic, the market was beginning to expect more from healthcare providers. Patients want to be more involved in decision-making, demanding transparency and personalisation – something they’ve grown accustomed to in industries like retail.
Unarguably, there has never been a more important time to focus on health. Consumers in Asia are increasingly embracing the use of sensors,
wearables, smart devices that continuously track everything from vital signs, sleep patterns, caloric intake and activity levels to provide a rich, real-time behavioural personal profile. Healthcare providers and organisations that are able to seize the opportunities to recognise, engage and reward consumers throughout their journeys will be able to drive improved outcomes and larger benefits from strengthened relationships.
On the other hand, with a rapidly ageing population and rising lifestylerelated chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension1, Asia-Pacific will represent more than 40 per cent of the growth in global healthcare spending over the next decade. Meanwhile, consumers are expecting more from healthcare players: more innovation, collaboration and solutions from healthcare providers for lowering costs and solving complex healthcare challenges.2 Research has found that 77 per cent of consumers have very clear expectations on personalised preventive care from primary healthcare providers. The shift towards personalisation is evident, along with concerns about access to care and rising costs, healthcare providers and pharma brands are left with no choice but to catch up as soon as possible.
In addition, studies reveal that the region is home to a burgeoning techsavvy, middle class that is wellnessoriented and outcome-driven whereas the Asian consumer is both demanding and driving a seismic shift on how healthcare is to be delivered and experienced. This will ultimately create opportunities for new entrants from other industries to democratise, decentralise and deliver health in new meaningful ways to consumers across the value chain.
Advances in medical science, data and technology combined with reduced cost of genomic sequencing technolo-
1 https://www.bain.com/contentassets/a1d1395b809d424a8db679657f95b19d/bain_report_asia-pacific_ front_line_of_healthcare.pdf 2 https://www.bain.com/contentassets/a1d1395b809d424a8db679657f95b19d/bain_report_asia-pacific_ front_line_of_healthcare.pdf gies has also given rise to the delivery of personalised healthcare and precision medicine tailored to individual genetic, behavioural and environmental information. Singapore for example, is ranked as the highest performer in the region for personalised healthcare readiness, as ranked by Personalised Health Index, developed by Roche and Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies.
In a nutshell, the convergence of these prevailing trends has altogether created an environment for highly proactive, personalised and preventative healthcare solutions.
TREND 3: Changing relationships between healthcare providers and patients
Healthcare has traditionally conjured up the image of a ‘patient’ – passive and dependent on their physician for treatment of their disease. In the more recent years, this view has shifted dramatically to that of a ‘consumer’ — one that is proactive, independent, highly discerning of wait times, costs, quality and seeks to proactively manage their health. The rise of this highly informed, empowered consumer class has fundamentally altered the physician-patient relationship. Armed with data from a variety of sources, consumers are expecting more involvement, more choices and control over decision making and seek to be engaged as partners and collaborators in their health journey. The pandemic in addition, has heightened consumer awareness and accelerated their desire to take ownership in managing their health, lifestyle and wellness.
In addition, Asia-Pacific is home to 60 per cent of the world’s population and is the fastest-growing digital economy. It is poised to become the world’s largest consumer market in the coming decade. Also, studies foresee a major paradigm shift in the healthcare industry in the years to come.3 By 2025, APAC is expected to account for 60 per
3 https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ global_20170228_global-middle-class.pdf cent of the global middle class, up from 46 per cent in 2015. The increase in numbers and the fact that it is also the fastest-growing digital economy paints a clear picture of this consumer group. They will be savvier, know more, have more power and will demand both quality and value-for-money in general. From healthcare providers, they will expect easy access to information, seek consultations, diagnoses and treatments that prioritise their lifestyle,4 preferences and needs. For instance, consumers expect to increase their use of digital health services significantly in the next five years, such as telemedicine, selfdiagnosis app, online pharmacy, health/ life insurance app, etc.
A study revealed that, thirty years from now,5 85 per cent of the two billion people who will be over the age of 60 will expect to be more involved and empowered in decisions that manage their health. However, most of the pharmaceutical industry is not yet prepared for how they’ll deliver value in a digitalfirst world driven by preventative care. Unfortunately, the traditional pharma marketing playbook isn’t in tune with today’s way of thinking. Without a forward-thinking strategy that’s designed to meet the needs of a new world of patient-centric and outcome-based personalised care, the road ahead could only get tougher.
While trusted clinician relationships will remain central to the ideal healthcare experience, engaging consumers and patients on their terms, and on channels and touchpoints of their choice as they go through their healthcare journey will become the critical differentiator in an increasingly competitive market. Organisations that holistically map their consumer’s end-to-end healthcare journeys as they connect the dots between their lifestyle, technology, wellness and
4 https://www.bain.com/contentassets/a1d1395b809d424a8db679657f95b19d/bain_report_asia-pacific_ front_line_of_healthcare.pdf 5 https://extranet.who.int/agefriendlyworld/wp-content/ uploads/2014/06/WHo-Global-report-on-falls-preventionin-older-age.pdf
quality of life to deliver tailored engagement and interactions will win the heart and minds of these consumers.6 With 50 per cent of physicians and consumers ready to adopt innovative technologies in the next 5 years, healthcare organisations and providers in Asia need to improve and innovate the ways in which they are delivering value to consumers of the future. These innovative technologies include personalisation, remote monitoring, telehealth, AI and predictive analytics that can offer opportunities to improve the relationship between consumer and healthcare provider, whereas the real value will be driven through seamless integration and orchestration of the end-to-end experience and solidified through trusted consumer-clinician relationships. Healthcare organisations that can deliver this, through smart technology utilisation will benefit not just from increased patient outcomes, loyalty and satisfaction, but also see increased efficiencies and improvements in operating models. In fact, healthcare organisations in Asia Pacific are already transforming themselves into scaling, innovation hubs and adopting Agile and Design Thinking methods to rapidly deliver solutions for evolving consumer needs and behaviours across the value chain.
Pharma companies on the other hand are recognising the opportunity to collaborate with consumers and their health providers as valuable partners in their personal health journeys, while adopting technology, user experience design and data analytics which are able to provide a solid foundation for building personalised long-term connections with patients and health providers.
The goal, undoubtedly, is to foster and enable patient education and preventative care. No matter which tactics are used, the pharmaceutical
6 https://www.bain.com/contentassets/a1d1395b809d424a8db679657f95b19d/bain_report_asiapacific_front_line_of_healthcare.pdf companies who come out on top will be the ones who find innovative and holistic ways to build trust and loyalty by providing meaningful value to customers through their personal health care experiences. And they’ll be miles ahead of their competition who lag in embracing accessible digital solutions.
AUTHOR BIO
Arnold is the founder and CEO of Appnovation, a global digital consultancy. Arnold started Appnovation in 2007 in Vancouver after his graduation from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. Since then, he has been leading the company’s strategic vision and business growth across 16 offices around the world, including US, Canada, Europe, Singapore and HK.
Responsible Growth
Sustainability today is an important agenda for most organisations globally. Across the board, organisations are increasingly realising that sustainability is a critical parameter to define competitiveness and gain the trust and confidence of all stakeholders.
So, what is sustainability? It means meeting our present needs in such a way that we don’t compromise on the future generation’s ability to meet theirs. For an organisation, it is an approach for creating long-term value for stakeholders from an economic, social and ecological perspective.
Aragen is a trusted R&D and manufacturing partner to the global life sciences industry. Our purpose – ‘in every molecule, is the possibility for better health’ inspires thousands of our employees to transform ideas into solutions for better health; be it for humans, animals, or plants. Since its inception 20 years ago, Aragen, formerly known as GVK Bio, has continuously expanded its service offerings. Today we are a leading R&D and manufacturing solutions provider serving
Sustainability highlights at Aragen
• Submitted letter of intent to the Science
Based Targets initiative (SBTi) • Signatory to the GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives • Bronze medal from EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings • 9.7 million man-hours of operations without loss-time injury • 6074 MT reduction in CO2 emissions due to renewable energy consumption • 11.16% of the total energy consumption is from renewable sources (green energy) • 223 MT hazardous waste disposed in an environment-friendly manner • 3886 MT hazardous waste recycled • 32489 KL fresh water conserved
clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, nutrition, agrochemicals, animal health, consumer goods and specialty chemicals sectors.
While we provide innovative scientific solutions to our customers, we are also committed to doing it in a safe and sustainable manner to minimise the potential impact on the environment and ensuring health and safety of our stakeholders. Sustainable development is an integral part of Aragen’s long term business strategy. By integrating environment, health, safety and sustainability management into one unified program, we strengthen the foundation for compliance, consistency, and continuous improvement.
At Aragen, sustainability is not an isolated responsibility but a collective commitment across the organisation. We have imbibed it into every aspect of our operations – following principles of green chemistry in labs and manufacturing facilities, sustainable sourcing, green supply chain, employee wellness and health, community engagement, following good governance practices, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and integrating best global EHSS practices. By continuously reducing carbon footprint, recycling and reusing resources, increasing use of renewable energy, minimising waste generation, and responsible waste elimination, we aim to create a better and healthier tomorrow while helping our clients develop better and more effective products faster. Our teams continuously adopt and implement global best practices in water and energy conservation, wastewater treatment and creating a safe workplace.
Continuous process improvement initiatives and adopting operational excellence tools and techniques have helped us reduce overall waste generated across our operations. During FY21, we disposed 240 MT of hazardous waste in an environment-friendly manner and recycled 3945 MT waste. Use of different types of electrodes such as graphite SK-50, glassy carbon, platinum-plated and RVC helps in conducting oxidation and reduction reactions without generating metal waste. Using carbon dioxide as an eluent, our scientists minimise the use of solvents which reduces the consumption of electricity. Use of flow technology enables high temperature and high-pressure operations in a safe manner, improving process efficiency and yield and providing better control on impurities.
Not just in our operating facilities but even in our supply chain and logistics operations we are implementing principles of sustainability. Being a member of the Global Pharmaceutical Industry Principles for Responsible Supply Chain Management (PSCI Principles), we voluntarily support and endorse our key suppliers and service providers to align with PSCI Principles.
We have integrated and applied the PSCI principles in our business processes within the context of our core value “Safety and Compliance Always” and EHS Policy.
Aragen has implemented ISO 50001:2018 certified Energy Management System and has defined short and long-term targets for improving energy efficiency and increasing use of renewable energy in operations. A three-tier team, with cross functional representations and headed by Plant, Production, and Engineering heads, has been constituted to implement various activities and oversee the progress on these targets. Over the past few years, we have steadily increased the use of renewable energy in our total energy consumption. Our total renewable energy consumption is 11% of total energy consumed, an increase of 6 % since FY2018-19. We have also achieved a reduction of 6,074 MT CO2e reduction in green house gas (GHG) emissions by implementing various green initiatives.
Our operations are heavily dependent on water consumption. At the same time, we are also conscious of the need to conserve this precious natural resource. Aragen is committed to reducing freshwater consumption to the extent possible by increasing
Aragen’s SDG focus areas:
• Good health and well-being • Gender equality • Decent work and economic growth • Responsible consumption and production • Climate action • Partnerships for the goals
the proportion of recycled water usage. Some of the measures to reduce water consumption include installation of efficient water fixtures to reduce wastage/ leakage, facility design based on flowrate, stormwater collection tanks, enhanced steam condensate recovery systems, CTI certified and VFD installed cooling towers. Through these and other recycling and reuse initiatives, we have conserved 32,489 KL fresh water. Aragen operates zero-liquid discharge water treatment plants to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and increase operational sustainability.
Aragen has submitted its letter of intent to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and is part of a growing list of organizations that are committed to setting emission reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming. It is also a signatory to the GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives, a framework that helps to realise the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nation. We have identified six SDGs as our focus areas and have planned several initiatives to work towards these goals. These are good health and well-being, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. Our CSR activities are aligned to these SDGs and focus on education, community support, helping the differently abled, providing medical care, sanitisation, safe drinking water, environmental sustainability and conservation of natural resources, promoting gender equality and nurturing sporting talent.
Besides conducting voluntary tree plantation drives within and in the vicinity of all our campuses, we also regularly support the local administration in their green drives. As a part of this, we have developed parks and green belts in Begumpet area in Hyderabad and Bommasandra in Bengaluru. Ongoing campus initiatives include awareness programs on the reduction of single-use plastic, food wastage in the cafeteria, and water conservation.
Our sustainability initiatives have also earned us recognition from the industry. The manufacturing unit and research laboratory at Nacharam campus in Hyderabad have been awarded Green Company – Silver rating by CII. We have also received the bronze medal in Ecovadis global sustainability assessment.
To summarise, sustainability at Aragen is not merely responding to the need of the hour but is a sustained, long term commitment to hold ourselves socially, environmentally, and economically responsible. Our sustainability initiatives are based on three pillars - business growth, social development and environment protection. We will continue to strengthen our sustainability initiatives such that we meet the expectations of all our stakeholders – be they customers, investors, employees, community or the environment.
AUTHOR BIO
Shivaji Dashrath Jadhav
VP & Head, EHS & Sustainability Aragen Life Sciences
Shivaji Jadhav is responsible for driving EHS and sustainability across Aragen. He has 25+ years of experience across pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing industries, with expertise in EHS management, process safety management, regulatory compliance, emergency management and risk mitigation.
The Vaccine: Inside the Race to Conquer the COVID-19 Pandemic
Author: Joe Miller, Uğur Şahin, Özlem Türeci
Year of Publishing: 2021
No. of Pages: 332
Shedding a light on the science behind the breakthrough, The Vaccine tells the story of the trailblazers who led the fightback against Covid-19, whose discoveries could now help the world tackle cancer, along with many other pervasive diseases. It draws back the curtain on one of the most important medical achievements of our age, containing contributions from the fascinating couple themselves, as well as more than 60 scientists, politicians, public health officials, and BioNTech staff. More suspenseful than a novel, this is a real-life story of an extraordinary race against time to save the world. By analyzing the key issues, debates, events, and actors surrounding the War on Drugs, this timely and impressive volume provides a deeper understanding of the role these policies have played in making our current political landscape and how we can find the way forward to a more just and humane drug policy regime. In Real-World Evidence in the Pharmaceutical Landscape, life science industry experts Sunil Dravida and his co-authors have developed the first comprehensive overview of its kind on Real-World Data (RWD) in the pharmaceutical industry. The authors examine the challenges and opportunities in applying real-world data along the pharmaceutical continuum, from clinical development to medical affairs, health economics and outcomes, and marketing. They address the difficulties identifying the suitable data sources, ensuring compliance with privacy, security and regulatory requirements, and the big job of translating data into Real-World Evidence (RWE) to generate meaningful insights that can improve decision making by stakeholders and measurable outcomes that can enhance people’s health and well-being.
The War on Drugs: A History
Author: David Farber
Year of Publishing: 2021
No. of Pages: 372
Real-World Evidence in the Pharmaceutical Landscape
