September 2023 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 29

// THOUGHT LEADERSHIP //

Innovation is hard. Innovation in digital health is harder still.

Digital Health was sold as a panacea, with expectations of revolutionary cures drawing massive investments from Google, Microsoft and the largest pharmaceutical companies.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated public acceptance of digital tools and health data sharing. Patients and doctors embraced diverse technologies en masse, from tele-consultations to home nasal swab tests.

However, there have also been some major casualties among those promising a new dawn in digital health, from Theranos to Pear Therapeutics.

Digital Health has entered the ‘Trough of Disillusionment’ phase of the Hype Cycle. Overhyped valuations have given way to disappointment due to unmet expectations. In this phase, the difficulty for new innovations is in overcoming the scepticism created by past failures.

Addressing global health challenges remains crucial, but how do we deliver innovations in a place where many well-resourced giants have fallen?

Demonstration of proof takes much longer in digital health than in other areas, because of the need to build in effective medical safety, navigate rapidly evolving regulations and convince many different stakeholders of its benefits.

Our approach is to temper expectations and reduce delivery risks. Rather than demolishing the house to build a new one in its place, Pharmanovia leverages the bones of the old structure to create a new renovated healthcare experience.

We begin by identifying unmet needs in targeted diseases, then pinpoint innovations and emerging technologies to address those needs.

The next step involves blending innovation with existing medicines, reimbursement processes and regulatory requirements to create something novel but that is made from familiar well-established components.

We believe that healthcare is ready for renovation, rather than revolution. 

Badri Wadawadigi is Chief Digital Officer at Pharmanovia.