At a time when the world came to a standstill and scrambled for ways to keep the pharma ecosystem doors open, technology proved to be the backbone that empowered leaders and enabled the workforce through unpredictable times. A Mckinsey study found that between December 2019 and July 2020, the average share of products and services that were partially or fully digitized across APAC stood at 54% – in terms of years, such a shift was equivalent to an adoption acceleration of over ten years.
“The reported increases are much more significant in healthcare and pharma, financial services, and professional services, where executives report a jump nearly twice as large as those reported in consumer packaged goods companies,” said the study.
In a sector such as healthcare, that has specifically borne tremendous pressure ever since the COVID outbreak, equipping the workforce with smart digital tools to deliver work has become the need of the hour. Beyond the workforce, leaders have been focused on informed decision making like never before, making data a non-negotiable element in the process. This makes adopting digital tools vital to not just enhance individual and team performance, but also generate actionable insights regarding workforce dynamics, and human capital.
Pandemic Impact in the pharma ecosystem due to COVID pandemic
• Huge pressure on economies, healthcare systems and citizens
• Patient flows disrupted
• Supply chains uncertainty
• Communications go virtual
• Clinical development arrested
• Launches continue at historic levels
• Generics benefitting from more stable prices and volume growth
We are witnessing a massive wave of change again with Covid-19. India has been praised for its ability to manufacture generics at scale. However, for Indian pharma to rise up in the global pharma order, focusing on certain aspects are vital. And this includes building a conducive environment for spurring domestic manufacturing and exports as well as encouraging innovation through an increased research and development (R&D) push. And while industry players have already been looking at ways and means of enhancing their value proposition, the pandemic accelerated it through the challenges that it brought along.
The resultant reimagination drive in pharma that was set into motion in 2020 will continue into 2021 and the years to come. This reimagination is not just as an imperative from a resilience and recovery point of view but it is also a means to thrive in the new world. However, this cannot be done in isolation. We are witnessing massive collaborative efforts—and this involves the government, industry, and regulatory authorities—take shape more prominently. In short, it has been an all-hands-on-deck approach.
