Where Will Technology Take Pharma In 2016?
This article was originally published in Scrip
Non-traditional healthcare partnerships are on the increase, including collaborative deals between big pharmas and technology giants such as Apple Inc. and Google. But what changes could these business partnerships – which have increased over the past few years – have in the long-term on the pharmaceutical and biotech industry?
A new series of reports from Sagient Researcher's BioMedTracker (BMT), an affiliate of Scrip, look specifically at this question, conducting some future-gazing to speculate on how the industry might change as crossovers between technology and healthcare increase, particularly in the life sciences sector.
In the reports, Intersection Between Tech And Pharma, (of which two of three have been published so far) it is noted that 40% of Fortune 50 companies pursued healthcare related partnerships in 2014.
Lead author of the report Armando Uribe told Scrip that in his opinion healthcare and technology partnerships, if they continue in growth and volume, could really help enhance the understanding of many diseases through better research.
"The future of health research is going to be in better comprehending why our bodies do the things they do. If researchers start to get a better understanding of that, then they can begin helping people prevent chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more, instead of focusing on treatments to manage them," Uribe said. However, he noted that collaboration or "intersection" between pharma and technology "is still at a very early stage."
One of the major players to make a move towards healthcare is Google, which under its new parent company, Alphabet, has its own internal life science unit – what used to be known as the mysterious and shrouded Google[x] and has now been spun out under the header Verily.
Verily's first pharma relationship was announced in July 2014, a deal which would see the company team up with Novartis AG's Alcon business for the development of a smart contact lens. Following that announcement, in 2015 Verily secured deals with the likes of Biogen, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, and Dexcom. These partnerships cover a wide range of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, heart disease and diabetes and Verily's partnership with Johnson & Johnson is for research into the advancement of surgical robots.
Google and Novartis's deal remains the most advanced prospect though and the two companies expect to initiate human testing for this product in 2016. This lens prototype is for accommodative vision correction in people with presbyopia, or age-related long sightedness, who can no longer read without glasses, BMT notes.
However, despite Google's obvious attraction to the healthcare space, BMT analysts highlighted that Andrew Conrad, head of Google[x]'s life science team, does not intend Google[x] to become a pharma company. However, "it seems that they may plan on creating a software product that they can license to others in the biotech and pharma space."
BMT said in its report that as an eye care focused company, Alcon may be brainstorming other innovative ideas in which they can use the smart lens. Analysts noted that the partnership will also help Google understand how to combine these sensors on a lens in a way in which the eye and cornea won't be bothered. "If successful, the life sciences team could be looking to license the technology to other big ophthalmology players in the pharma space like Allergan or Regeneron. Currently there are no other competitors in the space as other companies are focused on developing small devices attached to the body that connect to a separate device that reads and transfers patient information," BMT said.
BMT did point out though, that as in in this case, a trend is appearing among these tech and pharma partnerships – there is very little information about these arrangements made public.
For example, while Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez has publically stated that it will be around five years before a smart lens type product reaches the market, what remains unclear is the level of involvement both parties have in one another's projects. "Novartis has not mentioned any development of the smart lens for glucose monitoring and Google[x] has not mentioned any development in patients with presbyopia," BMT said in its report. "With the information provided we can speculate that Novartis's product, if approved, would be sold direct-to-consumer by prescription."
Also Scrip recently spoke to Apple for insight into the company's recent mobile app development deal and how it views the future for Apple and pharma; however Apple said it is not its practice to talk about future products in any sectors. The company did note it expected to provide a public briefing on its goals for the healthcare sector in the near future.
More From Apps
Uribe nominated "mobile health and mobile app development" as the most interesting area for tech and pharma firms to collaborate in at this time. "Our smartphones have the technology to tell us a lot of different information and the more quality information that can be gathered will help an individual stay engaged and make better educated decisions about their behavior," he said. BMT's report highlights Apple's recent partnerships with Epic systems, for information transfer to EHRs (electronic health records), and with IBM for apps that aim to cut down the hospital inefficiencies.
He noted that one area where we could see an increase in app development from pharma or biotech firms would be orphan diseases. "Since orphan disease patients are usually found in small groups all over the world, I think it’s an area where having mobile apps for research can really help with the understanding of these diseases," he said.
What's Next In A Health/Tech World?
Novartis and a handful of other healthcare firms aside, Uribe said the thing that has surprised him most in watching the growing health/tech space is how reluctant pharma still seems to be when it comes to collaborating with tech.
"There was even an interview where the CEO of Roche said the tech companies were simply IT companies in the healthcare space and they lack the medical knowledge. Overall, there has only been a small number of big pharma companies involved in partnerships with tech to date," Uribe said.
However, Uribe does see the push for collaboration continuing from the technology side. "Tech firms have had a growing interest in healthcare because of how inefficient it is," he said. "Whether it's helping to gather and analyze results from a clinical trial or general patient care, it is very clear that the way things are done in healthcare hasn't changed in a very long time. Tech companies really see an opportunity in that, especially given how much our technology has advanced in the last 10 years."
And in his opinion there is space for better technology everywhere in healthcare, "whether it is collaborations for surgical robotics, mobile health apps, EHRs, or data analytics software."
To download BMT's The Intersection Between Tech and Pharma special reports go to: www.biomedtracker.com