With COVID-19 being the largest health crisis in the world, how have you seen the health and life sciences industry impacted?
The COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the health industry has been at least of the same significance that the Financial Crisis had on the Finance industry leading to an exponential acceleration of digital business transformation. While the COVID-19 crisis has affected everyone, the health industry has been in the eye of the storm.
Looking, for example, at the pharma industry, their drug development process was affected by delays in clinical trials as hospitals could often not focus on trial execution. Additionally, travel restrictions prevented participants from traveling to trial locations. This has led to an increased interest in virtualization approaches in the clinical trial space, and we have seen many companies embrace digital as a way to keep pace with innovation. As a result, clinical research has seen a reform. In the pre-COVID19 world there had been a fierce competitive race in the drug development process, however, we’re seeing partnerships and collaboration amongst former rival companies emerging.
Whereas we have already seen pre-COVID19 healthcare professionals demanding meaningful digital interaction possibilities with pharma companies, this has now become a key focus area, too. For example, creating service portals, digital conference formats or virtual solutions to empower sales representatives.
From a healthcare provider’s perspective, the impact has been significant.