The case for ‘beyond the pill’ services is becoming well established. Most new drugs coming to market are perceived by some to have relatively limited value in their own right (eg incremental benefits over existing options). Some of the most urgent unmet needs in healthcare in the developed world (and therefore where the industry can add most value in these regions) are not just within the provision of medicines, but also within healthcare systems and services.
Biopharmaceutical companies must therefore consider the whole package; they should offer compelling beyond the pill services related to their products that address stakeholder needs along the patient pathway, leading to better health outcomes, while at the same time providing a source of competitive advantage.
The strategic purpose and tactical mix of these services can vary significantly, so how do biopharma companies go about choosing the right services, for the right audience at the right time?
A beyond the pill approach should have a central strategy at its core which underpins all services offered. This strategy should include in-depth customer analysis as well as disease, brand and competition mapping, resulting in a detailed assessment of stakeholder needs throughout the patient pathway.
The completed mapping forms the basis from which the service model strategy can be developed, involving prioritisation of the service model components and development of the proposed solutions.
Given the strict regulations the biopharma sector is governed by and given that knowledge gaps may exist in certain areas related to certain services, biopharma companies often consider external partners for implementing the decided services strategy. Since many required services are already available in today’s healthcare systems, such as medical call centres, telemedicine solutions and home care, a rigorous review across the holistic value chain to decide on what to build internally and where to involve the best partners going forward is required.
Before selecting potential partners, biopharma managers need to decide where they want to focus internal resources leveraging their core competencies best. The large number of different partnership options for external services blocks, often different in each country, can be grouped into technology partners, such as mobile solutions providers, healthcare partners, such as medical call centres and biopharmaceutical distributors, and commercial/ marketing partners providing access to paying customers, eg medical assistance operators.
Traditional commercial models, focused on pharmaceutical representatives targeting prescribing physicians, can limit the available funds for services strategies. Up to now, services have generally been provided free. This has created an expectation that this will always be the case, but it is not a sustainable model for delivery of meaningful, comprehensive services. However, despite the fact that the biopharmaceutical industry is well-placed to be the core provider of beyond the pill services, companies are currently not setup to generate revenue in this way. It is only a matter of time before the design and delivery of such services is owned by other stakeholders who will be more than happy to charge for their services.
The shift from just selling pills to providing services strategically to various different customers/stakeholders has begun. Over time, the biopharmaceutical sector will uncover increasingly attractive business models, as did first insightful medical devices companies decades ago. Longer-term, we expect an evolution beyond the traditional revenue mechanisms and commercial models, which will be essential for biopharma companies to maximise their value creation within the healthcare sector at large.
