Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Flavia Macrì, Marketing Manager.
How could you describe your career path in a few words?
I am a 36 year old Marketing Manager with more than 10 years of experience across Sales & Marketing divisions, within leading companies in the Pharmaceutical and Mass Market industries. I am a natural team player with a great attention to details and a real passion for challenges; in fact, within my career, I have prepared the launch and launched different novel agents and two start-ups. During my career, I have managed to successfully engage different type of customers, internal and external, especially health care professionals through innovative and creative projects and focused collaboration.
What are the highlights of the key digital innovation trends for 2023 in pharmaceutical industry? Can you give us some major examples?
First, it’s crucial to focus the attention on the 3 main stakeholders in pharma field: physician, patient and pharma industry.
When it comes to healthcare professionals, there is an increased development and adoption of digital therapeutics to prevent, manage, or treat medical disorders and a growing use of health apps for patient engagement, medication adherence, and real-time health monitoring.
Speaking about patients, being more looked after by the physician and engaged through digital device and app can impact not only on practical aspects of disease management, but also on the emotional approach. Several patient engagement platforms have been created to enhance patient engagement throughout the drug development lifecycle, including education, adherence monitoring, and feedback mechanisms.
Finally, the objective for pharmaceutical industry is to provide effective and safe drugs for patients to fill unmet clinical needs. A continued integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in drug discovery processes, can accelerate the identification of potential drug candidates, optimizing clinical trial designs. In addition, the expansion of remote and decentralized clinical trials, enabled by digital technologies, can enhance patient participation, reduce costs, and streamline trial processes.
Based on your experiences, what are the impactful trends in digital innovation that are becoming more important in the context of 2024 in pharmaceutical industry?
It's essential to keep in mind that the digital landscape evolves rapidly, and new trends may emerge while existing ones evolve in unexpected ways.
There are 2 of the potential impactful trends that I think could become even more important in the context of 2024. Metaverse and Extended Reality (XR) and Data-Driven marketing.
The concept of the metaverse, a virtual shared space that combines aspects of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and the internet, is gaining momentum. In 2024, we may see further developments in creating immersive digital environments for work, social interactions, and education. These aspects are even more important in medicine, where being accurate, updated and work with a cross functional approach beyond the silos, have an impact on patients’ lives.
When it comes to data-driven Marketing, in an era where all the communication we are reached by are customized, even pharma industry, remaining subjected to regulation, can leverage on advanced data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for reaching specific healthcare professionals and patient populations more effectively, creating tailored contents for them and raise their attention on what is relevant to them with “ad hoc” customer journeys.
In your opinion, how can they create high value for organizations, especially in pharmaceutical industry?
Digital trends can create significant value for organizations across various industries by fostering innovation, improving efficiency, enhancing customer experiences, and driving competitive advantages. When it comes to pharmaceutical companies, it can be translated in transforming various aspects of operations, from research and development to manufacturing, supply chain management, and patient engagement.
Here just a few examples:
Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms can enhance drug discovery processes by analysing vast datasets, predicting potential drug candidates, and optimizing clinical trial designs. This can significantly speed up the research and development pipeline.
Digital technologies, including genomics and data analytics, enable pharmaceutical companies to move towards precision medicine. Tailoring treatments based on individual patient characteristics can improve drug efficacy, reduce side effects, and enhance overall patient outcomes.
Digital trends such as data analytics, wearable devices, and virtual trial technologies can optimize clinical trial processes. This includes more efficient patient recruitment, real-time data monitoring, and enhanced collaboration among stakeholders.
Pharmaceutical companies can develop and integrate digital therapeutics into their treatment plans, offering patients digital solutions for managing health conditions.
By strategically adopting and integrating these digital trends, pharmaceutical companies can optimize their processes, accelerate innovation, improve patient outcomes, and stay competitive in an evolving healthcare landscape.
