To read predictions from MM+M Agency 100 honorees, click here.
To read predictions from Boehringer-Ingelheim and Regeneron, click here.
In 2024, we’ll see AI leveraged as a critical public health tool to address national and global health equities. For example, real time infectious disease tracking and prediction will enable people to be safer as they navigate their lives and provide public health officials critical information to make more informed decisions on how best to deploy resources to stop outbreaks. The potential here is incredible — but as AI’s capabilities expand, organizations must also take important precautions to ensure this technology does not inadvertently add to current inequities. With that in mind, in 2024, it will also be increasingly important to have the infrastructure in place to study AI products and generate the evidence needed to show that they are safe and effective for use. — Andrew Trister, chief scientific officer, Verily
In the upcoming year, pharmaceutical marketers should prioritize transparency and patient-centric communication to address rising mistrust from healthcare providers. This will be particularly critical given the time constraints and information overload HCPs currently face which can often lead to increased frustration. Marketers must move beyond traditional messaging and provide comprehensive, scientifically-backed information encompassing both the benefits and risks of their marketed therapeutics — the good, the bad and the ugly. This fosters transparency and patient-centricity, rebuilding trust with HCPs and nurturing the critical relationships between doctors and patients.
Technology can play a key role in mitigating this mistrust and frustration. Tools that can better understand HCP preferences and fully orchestrate across all engagement to channels to deliver personalized and transparent communications will be critical. Effectively leveraging data, beyond mere collection, will be crucial to enabling technology to adapt to the evolving demographics of healthcare professionals and provide real time, updated insights, ensuring a cohesive and trustworthy engagement approach. The further adoption of advanced technologies like generative AI can play a significant role in supporting these efforts but this must be done in an accurate, ethical and responsible way to avoid even further potential of mistrust. — Tom Hayes, senior director, product strategy and commercialization, IQVIA
We know consumers are moving away from traditional cable, often referred to as cutting the cord, and we foresee 2024 as the pivotal year when pharma advertisers will similarly embrace this trend and redirect their media budgets towards TV streaming. Remarkably, this past year linear TV usage dipped below 50%, while streaming reached a record high, capturing 38.7% of total TV consumption.
In particular, our projections for 2024 indicate a flourishing landscape for ad-supported streaming content. The surge in popularity of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels is unmistakable, with major streaming services incorporating ad-supported tiers to bolster revenue. This seismic shift in reach coupled with sophisticated targeting and measurement that TV streaming provides, makes it a critical component of our pharmaceutical partners’ media mix. — Michael Singer, head of industry, health and wellness, Roku
In 2024, pharmaceutical brands should focus on engaging with technology and platforms that synergize patient and provider marketing programs. Innovative brand leaders will utilize technologies including AI, ML and microtargeting, reaching both audiences at the same critical decision points in order to drive productive and informed care discussions between doctors and patients. Dynamic message execution, real-time response and providing comprehensive program measurement across audiences will be a necessity for industry leaders next year. — Maria Cipicchio, SVP marketing, OptimizeRx
In 2024 and beyond, we expect the proliferation of highly capable multimodal generative AI offerings in two sets: expansion of the large language models (LLMs) from the big cloud players/hyperscalers on one side, and on the other, a growing ecosystem of highly capable smaller language models that can run on consumer devices such as laptops and smartphones. We expect these smaller models to help uncover new use cases in the realm of personal assistants and robotics. Further, we expect the next generation of LLMs will come with stronger controls around hallucination, and bias. The maturity on this front will unlock more use cases in life sciences and help scale up the adoption of GenAI particularly for patient engagement and clinical research.
It’s not hard to imagine soon you’ll have a digital twin – a GenAI-based bot that runs locally on your device or your personal cloud – it’ll know you like you know yourself! And marketers will have to develop strategies to engage with these intelligent assistants. — Tarun Mathur, chief technology officer, Indegene
Telehealth is rapidly becoming more commonplace as patients and providers adjust healthcare delivery norms and will only continue to outpace expectations in the coming years. Building on the great strides already made in accessibility and adoption, I am confident that 2024 will see even faster growth as convenience and personalized care continue to drive superior patient outcomes. AI integration will be a key element in driving these advances. Intuitive symptom checkers and advanced chatbots will allow patients to access guidance, help, and even diagnosis, while physicians leveraging AI’s analytical capabilities will swiftly identify conditions, understand patient needs, and provide tailored treatment plans. With a more comprehensive view of patient health and care, the new year will be marked by delivering exceptional care that results in healthier, happier patients — in any setting. — Wyatt Oren, director of sales, Agora
Technology and data are giving biopharma marketers more insights into content creation and campaign performance than ever before. But to capitalize on those insights, biopharmas will shift from the traditional agency-first mindset to an agile operating model that simplifies and speeds up execution. This transformation will be driven by emerging leaders — from chief digital officers to chief marketing officers — who will bring together people, processes and technology.
Marketers will be compelled to shift their thinking and use technology to do more themselves versus relying on agencies. Instead, marketers will use agencies for broader strategic initiatives but will have increased responsibility for creating derivative assets and scaling personalized content across multiple channels. This operating model will also solve another challenge: connecting medical and marketing leadership. This collaboration will drive further alignment in content strategy and create a more relevant experience for HCPs. — Pooja Ojala, VP of commercial content, Veeva
The relationship between a patient and their healthcare provider has evolved. The convenience of telehealth and mobile apps has shifted consumer behavior to digital environments, and patients are also seeking the same level of emotional connection they receive from consumers brands they love. Healthcare marketers are looking for strategies to meet modern audiences where they are in an audio-first world. The most effective way to scale this growing ecosystem in 2024 is through sonic branding. A thoughtfully designed sonic identity system can build emotional connections and boost KPIs like recall and attribution across touchpoints — even when a brand is not visible! AI-powered assistants, on-hold music, UX sounds on mobile apps or products, and overhead soundscapes in waiting rooms are just a few of the touchpoints healthcare providers will need to make their audio presence heard. — Mike Stango, director, brand partnerships, Made Music Studio
Health and pharma companies are increasingly focusing on personalized treatments, analyzing complex patient data to create more effective therapies. However they face significant hurdles in handling the vast, intricate datasets necessary for such advancements. This challenge is a substantial market opportunity for tech giants with expertise in AI and data analytics to forge strategic partnerships with health companies. By strengthening these collaborative relationships between industries, technology firms can offer their advanced AI platforms (especially with emerging generative AI augmentation) and analytical prowess to aid in the detailed deciphering of clinical and genomic datasets, accelerating the identification and development of new drugs and unlocking the potential for groundbreaking discoveries in personalized medicine. — Melvin Lai, associate, Silicon Foundry
The Food and Drug Administration will enact laws that will supercharge diversity in clinical trials. In 2024, the FDA will finally pass legislation requiring Phase 3 clinical studies to meet specific diversity markers, aiming to ensure greater representation of diverse patient populations in clinical trials. — Ariel Katz, CEO and co-founder, H1
In 2024, we foresee two main trends happening in healthcare. The first being personalized healthcare being advanced by a variety of technology implementations, experimentations, and developments. This technology will help more effectively communicate, connect, and collaborate on personalized care helping teams elevate patient outcomes. Secondly, AI integration and GenAI implementation are poised to become the new “cloud migration.” Healthcare systems will continue to navigate this transformative shift, reflecting a varied landscape of timelines and strategies to streamline efficiencies and increase talent’s availability to focus on creating more value-driven opportunities. — Alex Kleinman, SVP, global segment leader, healthcare, Genpact
Last year millions of brand names were registered in North America across the healthcare industry. In 2024, it will be more important than ever for your healthcare brand to have a name that breaks through. In a crowded space, your name becomes a crucial asset that gives consumers a predisposition to purchase. Especially when consumers are less loyal, have shorter attention spans and often make purchasing decisions based on brand behavior. Due to the global and digital nature of healthcare, linguistics is crucial when working across multiple languages and cultures. Then there’s the challenges of securing a trademark for your brand name across all 45 international trademark classes. Brand names must perform at much higher levels than ever before to be truly effective. — David Placek, president and founder, Lexicon Branding
On the patient side in 2024, watch for healthcare practices to embrace mainstream consumer technology to offer patient-friendly tools. As a result, expect patients to communicate and engage with their providers from pre-scheduling to post visit to improve their health and well-being. This trend is in direct response to the rising demand for consumer-friendly healthcare encounters, which has proven to enhance patient loyalty.
On the practice side, watch for the widespread adoption of API driven healthcare management platforms that combine multiple vendors into a single branded experience for both patient and provider. This post-pandemic shift is here to stay. The adoption of interoperability and need for consumer-friendly technology will allow for best-in-breed vendors to work together providing a comprehensive solution for healthcare providers to efficiently manage their practices and address the growing staffing problem they all face. — Hari Prasad, CEO, Yosi Health
In 2024, I predict that the industry will prioritize and implement diversity action plans, as required by FDA guidance. This will lead to an increase in clinical trials that are more patient-centric, with solutions embedded to remove financial and logistical burdens which have historically caused increased patient dropout. We will see a more collaborative approach among industry colleagues to make patient-centric trials the norm rather than the exception. Although we have had many conversations about the patient experience in the past, I believe that in 2024, we will see more of an adopted implementation of what we have learned over the years and make a global shift and impact for the patients we support in this industry. — Jaleeysa King, product owner, reporting and analytics, Greenphire
In 2024, the term operational readiness will be on the tip of pharma’s tongue, ensuring that facilities are ready to expedite the delivery of life-saving medicine will truly be a top priority. Some would say: Well, what’s revolutionary about that? The reality is that many facilities are designed and built — but aren’t ready, often for months — to make medicine. It is an unspoken and unequivocal fact in the industry. In order to thrive in an increasingly fast-paced drug development environment, manufacturers must embrace digital transformation by the realistic integration of AI and digital twin technologies, while staying attuned to regulatory changes and fostering resilient and sustainable supply chains. — Maggie Whitney, senior account executive, public relations, CAI
