Navigating the ‘Patient Metro’

In our cover story this month, Danny Buckland looks at navigating the ‘Patient Metro’ – a journey full of insights, and why the key to unravelling its potential is to focus on the intersections where journeys are made or broken.

As Danny says: The patient journey rarely runs along accepted lines and timetables, but all have points where conditions and treatments intersect with clinical and personal experiences. They don’t lend themselves to an app or pocket-sized map, but these ‘insight stops’ are everywhere along the line from diagnosis to discharge, and routine check-ups to meetings with consultants.

“Recognising and understanding that these moments, and their personal and logistical mechanics, are the busiest, and potentially most rewarding, sectors of modern healthcare, the junction of industry commitment, technology and HCP engagement is putting patient insights on a fast track to improve outcomes.” Read more on page 28.

In this issue we also have an article from Henrik Zetterberg from the University of Gothenburg and UCL on the three non-negotiable pillars of Alzheimer’s blood testing and why sensitivity, access and education will define scalable Alzheimer’s diagnostics. As Henrik says: “Projections estimate that an alarming 153 million people will be living with Alzheimer’s or related dementias by 2050. Sensitivity and accuracy are essential in Alzheimer’s blood testing because early and reliable detection is vital for meaningful intervention.” Find out more on page 16.

Another highlight of this issue is an article on page 20 heralding a new advent of clinical pathway management. With over half of all phase 3 clinical trials failing, with an estimated cost of between $800m to $1.4bn per drug failure, Jon Gibbins and Chris Jones explain why platelet functionality analysis could pave the way to improving drug asset selection and de-risking clinical trials.

Our next issue, in November 2025, will look at the important role of medical affairs. If you would like to make your voice heard on this topic, please get in touch at sales@pmlive.com

I hope you enjoy this issue!

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