The value and risk involved with pharma-healthtech partnerships to accelerate digital connected health

There’s no doubt that pharma-healthtech partnerships have the potential to deliver effective digitally connected health outcomes. It can be achieved by managing complexities, reducing costs and allowing each partner to focus on their key strengths. However, several risks can make it difficult for both partners to derive mutual value and pave the way for a more connected and efficient solution.

In the recent shift in global pharmaceutical focus on developing patient care more predictive, intuitive, and backed by artificial intelligence solution, the pharma partnership with digital health firms has played a significant role.

This two-way partnership has allowed pharmaceutical companies to build capabilities and streamline their market availability. Simultaneously, healthtech firms have access to a commercialization partner, which can also provide the right market validation for their products. Besides that, these partnerships promise considerable value-added benefits. These include:

Manage complexities

Given the increasing use cases of digital health platforms, pharmaceutical companies face challenges in navigating the regulatory environment and handling the multifaceted nature of these complex technologies. Healthtech partners can bring into perspective their technical expertise which can simplify these challenges. 

Optimize cost through tech

Developing digital healthtech solutions and maintaining the technology stack is both time-consuming and expensive. However, pharma companies can avoid this cost by collaborating with pre-existing platforms and established digital infrastructure that have been tested in real-world settings. This means less time spent building a system and cost savings, allowing them to allocate their resources to research and patient care.

Ensure Focus

With these collaborations, each partner can concentrate on its core competency. Pharmaceutical companies can continue to focus on developing novel solutions, clinical research and patient care strategies, while healthtech digital partners can concentrate on building and refining their solutions and better serving the market together.

Pharma-healthtech partnerships work on collaborative efforts that help both sides focus on what they do best. With a clear, shared vision in improving patient care, both partners can ensure their efforts are channeled towards high-impact outcomes. However, this partnership is not devoid of risks.

The current partnerships rely on point solutions such as digital therapeutics, clinical decision support tools, and standalone software as a medical device (SaMD). However, when it comes to working with the in-house IT and data infrastructure, combining multiple solutions from different platform partners but building a new infrastructure for third-party data exchange, the value of these partnerships remains unclear.

Risk involved in these partnerships

Scalability 

Most healthtech solutions need to be designed with scalability in mind. However, when it comes to navigating multinational regulations and technical infrastructural requirements, healthtech companies may face struggles. Without careful planning and active market shaping, a solution that has worked well on a smaller scale may not expand to a diverse patient population and may fail to deliver consistent performance at scale. 

Long-term creation 

Building long-term value requires consistent efficiency, iterations and innovations. Regardless, innovation in digital medicine doesn’t always translate to value. With the rapid pace of technological changes, both partners must stay committed to ensuring that the digital solutions evolve with market demands, which may not align well with ROI-driven investors.  

Investing in the wrong partner

Not every healthtech company can match the requirements of a pharmaceutical company. Investing in a partner that lacks expertise, resources, or a clean business model can lead to wasted investments and delays. Furthermore, it may also force pharmaceutical companies to either dissolve the partnership or support a struggling partner, resulting in digital solutions that fall short of their expectations. 

The balance between pharma and healthtech partnerships relies on more than just enthusiasm for digital innovation. Rather, it demands a clear strategy where each partner understands their role and is ready to build personal capabilities and adapt to growth and diverse market conditions. 

Summary

Pharma-healthtech partnerships have the potential to drive digitally connected health outcomes by managing complexities, reducing costs, and leveraging each partner’s strengths. These collaborations enable pharma companies to enhance capabilities and market reach, while healthtech firms gain commercialization support and validation.