Four strategies Canadian life sciences companies should embrace now
From product centric to patient focused, an entirely new definition of value is taking hold in the life sciences sector. Here in Canada, companies that seize this moment to refocus accordingly will be well positioned to harness the potential of the post-pandemic market and translate this directional shift into future growth opportunities.
What’s driving growth for Canada’s life sciences sector?
The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled what appears to be a permanent shift in the value drivers shaping the life sciences industry. For decades, value was tied right into cost. Now, the market has embraced a much broader view of value. From risks reduced to access provided and insight shared, stakeholders are looking beyond dollars and cents to understand the greater value life sciences organizations can create.
By the numbers, EY research shows 90% of global life sciences executives have already explored long-term business plans to ensure their current portfolio aligns to future needs. For example, the pandemic has pushed telemedicine into the mainstream, requiring a different patient approach. Rolling out clinical trials in a hybrid virtual world represents similar dynamics. The 67% of life sciences execs doubling down to invest more in digital transformation — and the 65% who are ramping up their focus on customer engagement — are evolving to meet those changing needs effectively.
What strategies should life sciences companies embrace now?
These global sector shifts represent an opportunity for life sciences companies here, and everywhere, to evolve in ways that cement market share and create new routes to growth.
Embracing these four tenets can be a good way to assess where you stand and begin transforming strategic direction:
- Stop thinking solely about products. Start building patient relationships.
Generalized approaches are a thing of the past. A behavioural change observed as a result of the pandemic has been enhanced health literacy for patients in Canada and beyond. They’ve shifted away from simply following a physician’s advice about prescriptions or procedures and cost-based decision-making to do their own research on therapeutics, drill down into potential side effects and ask for specific vaccines by name. A more engaged patient population means life sciences companies can differentiate themselves by going beyond cost to build customer relationships grounded in transparency and trust. Get to the heart of what your audience is looking for. Reverse engineer your go-to-market strategy from the nuances they care most about to set your business — and your brand — apart.
- Let go of disjointed digital tactics. Lean in to seamless digital journeys.
It’s very difficult to achieve stronger relationships without stronger data. Whether you’re hoping to learn more about your buyers or seeking to meet growing calls for updated reporting of stocks and volumes, outdated digital tools won’t cut it in this new age. Fragmented data doesn’t only waste time and resources. It prevents you from acting on trends quickly, responding to stakeholder needs efficiently, and cultivating brand loyalty among distributors, payers and end users. Identify your digital gaps. Build a transformation plan that moves you away from add-on digital tactics towards becoming a digital-first leader capable of operating proactively.
- Rethink emergency preparedness. Create a strategic path forward.
The last 18 months have illuminated supply chain dependencies that many Canadians never would have considered before the pandemic began. Our collective reliance on foreign manufacturing is now top of mind for stakeholders already thinking beyond vaccine availability to question what happens if we run out of other therapeutics or medications? This reality is compounded by each new wave of COVID-19 and a deepening supply chain and transportation crisis that many view among the top challenges the market faces today. As younger, healthier patients require therapeutics for longer periods of time, companies will need a bigger safety net of domestically available medication. Use this time to reflect on emergency preparedness gaps that emerged in your organization during the pandemic. Redraw that map for the future, based on lessons learned and leading practices created.
- Harness increased capital flow. Use it wisely to expand.
Businesses now recognize there’s really no predicting when the next pandemic could occur. With that in mind, it’s important to work ahead to shore up your portfolio, making capital both easily available and deployable. We found the pandemic stopped or delayed planned investments for 89% of life sciences organizations globally. Today, the market is in a very different place, and could be ready to redirect that capital into an acquisition, partnership or strategic alliance that equips you with the tools or reach you need to succeed. Look at where you hope to be down the road. Assess opportunities to get the capital — or capabilities — you need now, while it’s ripe for the taking.
What’s the bottom line?
Canadian life sciences companies that refresh their strategies to align with a market transformed by COVID-19 can tee themselves up to better meet stakeholder needs and expectations. Doing so opens up powerful new routes to growth that can fuel future success.
