Will data and AI prove to be the game-changer that transforms launch excellence?

Science has no time for crystal ball gazing or lucky charms and no exotic incantation can match a rigorous equation, but hopes and prayers are often invoked around product launches.

With so much at stake and the runes seemingly cast against success – more than a third fail to meet expectations according to current metrics – it is easy to see why even the most hardened operatives can be tempted to lean into superstition.

The launch landscape is getting ever more complex and costly, but there are high expectations that innovative thinking and insightful strategies can be empowered and emboldened by data-driven technology and AI. There is no magic wand, but new methods of reading markets and making deep connections with patient populations and HCPs are hugely welcome.

The maths of a launch is sobering, with the latest Deloitte study, Measuring the Return from Pharmaceutical Innovation, reporting that the average cost of developing a drug has risen to $2.2bn in 2024, up from $2.1bn in 2023.1

The costs are eye-watering, even at the lower end of the spectrum, and Karen Taylor, director at the Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions, commented: “While stubbornly high costs of bringing drugs to market presents an ongoing challenge, our analysis shows that shifting the dial to new treatment areas and shaking up traditional drug development methods can all boost efficiency and productivity. Investing in data analytics and AI tools can also be a game-changer, leading to smarter clinical trials and faster, more informed decisions.”

Data and AI have established a clear value in research and drug discovery, but it is now time to focus on what they can do further along the commercial chain to reduce both risk and cost to promote return on investment. This can include anything from retooling prosaic processes to unleashing edgy creativity, with advanced data analytics guiding the way.

Florian Schnappauf, Vice President of Enterprise Commercial Strategy Europe at Veeva Systems, believes AI and technology are already playing a transformative role across the launch landscape by devouring data and translating into action points that decode driving forces in markets and patient behaviour. These insights illuminate pathways to relevant engagements with targeted HCPs.

“Launches have never been easy – bringing a product to market requires a lot of upfront investment and always carries risk. But with the rise of specialty medicines and shorter commercialisation cycles, launches are becoming even more complex, making flawless execution more critical than ever,” he says.

“This brings challenges, but also opportunities to use data and AI to streamline processes and identify the right people to talk to. Field teams could continue speaking to HCPs they’ve had interactions with in the past, but are they the right doctors who are going to make important treatment decisions for your future launch? This is where data can make a tremendous difference.

“One company had a list of HCPs it was targeting for a cardio indication launch. But, through Veeva CRM Pulse, which provides quarterly HCP access metrics created from activity data generated by Veeva CRM and Vault CRM, they discovered 50% more key doctors in the field who they had never engaged before, and who no other organisation was visiting. The result was a significant sales uplift for their drug.”

Software applications are being refined by the day to harness the influx of real-world data from market dynamics and initiatives such as Q&A sessions with HCPs. They are making links across social media platforms that open up insights to HCP and patient activity that can be acquired within compliance and security guide rails.

Biopharma companies have been increasingly using AI, machine learning and neurolinguistic programming to aid drug discovery over the last ten years but they are also acutely aware of its wider benefit. Novartis is deploying AI and blockchain technology to improve clinical trial design and strengthen supply chain processes, while Bayer has developed processes that predict production yield fluctuations so that corrective measures can be developed in advance.

“Data can uncover a wealth of insights – from conference topics and discussions to what HCPs are publishing and engaging with on social media – so field teams can have more meaningful conversations with them,” adds Florian. “A unified CRM platform with a solid data foundation can also bring company functions closer together, so that clinical, medical, marketing access and commercial teams can work from the same information and engage more effectively. Our vision is to integrate these disciplines to help biopharma get medicines to patients that need them faster.”

Veeva is committed to removing friction from the flow of data by promoting a common data architecture with a single taxonomy, enabling systems to move beyond text dependency.  “We’ve been using keyboards for decades, but imagine being able to work with your voice, capturing notes more naturally during HCP conversations and turning them into richer insights that continually improve how you work,” he observes. “AI tools will unlock new possibilities for HCPs to be more creative, and there is a real excitement about what can be achieved.

“Everyone in life sciences is driven by the mission to create life-saving medicines and tackle complex diseases. While launches are getting more complex, the possibilities unlocked by data, technology, and AI are expanding rapidly. Innovation is critical not only on the R&D and medical side, but also in marketing and commercialisation, which are a fundamental part of the process in getting those medicines to patients that urgently need them.”

The positivity is echoed by Mervyn Ward, Digital Marketing Strategist at Kanga Health, who has worked for big pharma companies on more than 30 launches – from marketing manager to country lead – and is a go-to launch excellence consultant.

“I have worked on many launch excellence projects for many companies and, whatever the product, they are hugely complex projects with many moving parts. On one launch, we had a change in our forecast that generated over 250 different variants, which took two months to unravel,” he says. “You can deal with those unexpected changes much more quickly with AI.

“Data gives you lots of opportunity to gain more insight and the ability to find new ways of working. It also helps give you a clear line of sight to what you want to achieve and any problems that might come up and how you might deal with them.”

Mervyn deems that AI can have a huge benefit when carefully constructed launch plans are thrown off balance. “It could be that a product approval occurs more quickly than you were thinking, or there is a change in the claim and you need to train the field force on this new perspective,” he says. “In the past, this would have taken three or four months. But now, with the use of AI-generated video, we can turn that round in a week with relevant content that can be translated into 20 different languages at the press of a button.

“Pre AI, I worked on one product launch where a rare issue caused a three-month delay because it took that long to train the reps to answer that specific question. Today, you could respond much more quickly and the benefits would be enormous.”

Kanga, which specialises in developing digital strategies that ‘uncover, meet customer needs and deliver on them’, is committed to developing digital strategies that provide insight and innovation across launch projects.

“We are focused on understanding the customer’s needs and delivering on that, and from a launch perspective, that involves looking at the best ways it can be done. In a recent project for a company struggling with clinical trial enrolment in rare disease, we improved their website with a few simple things, and that transformed sign-ups, generating 30 new patients in weeks, not years,” adds Mervyn.

“Digital gives you more tools to both create fresh thinking on an innovative level and then to implement them with effective processes. Pre-launch, it’s about getting greater customer insights, understanding the market and the risk variables better, and then de-risking the project using AI. But it does need a human overlay.

“Launches will never become risk-free, but you can have more control over the variables and introduce quick and effective changes when things don’t go exactly to plan, and being able to respond rapidly could be the key to a product’s success.”

The potential of generative AI’s continual learning characteristics to insulate launches from fracture and failure is debatable, but its ability to reveal market intelligence, streamline practices and react to unexpected trauma is already making a significant difference.

References

1. www.deloitte.com/ch/en/Industries/life-sciences-health-care/research/measuring-return-from-pharmaceutical-innovation.html

Danny Buckland is a freelance journalist specialising in the healthcare industry