New Study: Are connected health apps now competitive "table stakes" for new pharma products and device delivery systems?

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Apr. 27, 2020/PRNewswire/ -- In recent years, biopharma organizations have developed a huge range of connected applications to enhance an equally wide range of medical device, drug and therapeutic delivery systems.

To help biopharma and medical device leaders better understand the current usage, benefits and development approaches to build “connected healthcare applications” that enhance an existing device or drug delivery system, Best Practices, LLC conducted a primary research study.

Once a strong competitive differentiator, connected healthcare applications are quickly becoming mere "table stakes" for new bringing new biopharma and device products to market.

Though they take many forms and serve different functions for every product, "connected apps" are critical for improving outcomes to win with patients, physicians and payers.

According to our new client-driven research:

• 62% of surveyed manufacturers organizations have already launched connected applications into the market (including 75% of large pharmas)
• 90% of manufacturers report "positive impact" in the critical areas of patient compliance, adherence, and driving quality improvements.
• 80% also report greater physician- and patient-driven starts.

According to the research, complex treatments and chronic disease create opening for high-value apps.

Per surveyed companies, "complex treatments" with complex delivery devices offer the single greatest opportunity for delivering value through connected applications, followed by "chronic diseases" and "high-frequency treatments." On the other hand, average patient age and existing software engineering talent and development infrastructure are not critical factors used by manufacturers to drive connected app program decisions, the study found.

The new report, "Connected Health Excellence: Assessing the Development, Deployment, and Impact of Integrated Treatment Apps,"is designed to help biopharma leaders make informed decisions about connected applications programs by examining the benefits and business case for apps, data collection practices, product development and external partnership models, and prevailing regulatory approaches.

For the purposes of this study, a “connected healthcare application” refers to any standalone software or electromechanical component which integrates with an existing medical device, drug or drug delivery system to improve treatment or collect treatment information.

This study engaged 29 leaders from 26 life sciences organizations through a benchmarking survey, with data segmented by Large vs. Smaller Healthcare organizations. Deep-dive interviews were conducted with five biopharma executives to provide further insight. To learn more about this report, download a complimentary report excerpt at https://www.best-in-class.com/rw101.htm.

Areas of investigation:

• Prevalence of connected applications being developed and launched by biopharma and device manufacturers
• Regulatory approval pathways
• Connected app investment
• Connected app opportunity areas, ROI and impact level
• Data collection models
• Adverse Events and product complaints monitoring approaches
• Application development and outsourcing models of competitors
• Recommended 3rd-party development partners
• Software development team reporting

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC

Best Practices, LLC is a leading benchmarking, consulting and advisory services firm serving biopharmaceutical and medical device companies worldwide. Best Practices, LLC's clients include all the top 10 and 48 of the top 50 global healthcare companies. The firm conducts primary research and consulting using its comprehensive proprietary benchmarking tools and analysis. The operational insights, findings and analysis form the basis for our Benchmarking Reports, databases and advisory services to support executives in commercial and R&D operations.