Had the pleasure of spending some time with the AbbVie market access, HTA, and governmental affairs teams to reflect on where the life science industry is headed, building on a presentation I gave earlier this year on navigating the global life science landscape, but with a bit more time to put more "flesh on the bone" in some areas -
💡 Lifestyle medicine. We know that lifestyle and behavioural interventions can have an outsized impact on health compared to pure medical care. But prescribing food, sleep or physical activity - or what some call "lifestyle medicine" - is actually not new. Take PAP (physical activity on prescription) for example. Sweden has a model for it that is considered best practice by WHO and EU, Swedes are keen on it (8 in 10 would prefer it to medication), but yet it's not being used very widely, with the main obstacle being the lack of time for healthcare staff to learn about the method and actively use it.
💡 Longevity medicine. An emerging field that challenges ageing itself in a bid to not just live longer, but live healthier. There are two perspectives in this - slowing down ageing (e.g. research efforts to address "12 hallmarks of ageing" that, if treated, could significantly slow down ageing itself); or, a bit more radically, reversing ageing itself (linked to a biological "ageing clock" comprised of four genes discovered by Nobel scientist Shinya Yamahaka, that could reprogram cells back to their embryonic, stem cell state). Interesting science, but also with lots of implications for society at large.
💡 Precision medicine. As in the case of cell and gene therapies - again, an area with huge potential to address real unmet needs, but the business model has still proven to be elusive for profit-making companies. Could the solution be in the non-profit sector? For example, just last month, the Italian non-profit Telethon Foundation announced that it will commercialise Strimvelis, a gene therapy addressing a form of severe combined immunodeficiency at a price tag of 594 000 EUR for a one-time, lifelong cure, but which was abandoned by two companies (GSK and Orchard Therapeutics) before being picked up by Telethon Foundation. Could this be the new business model for such therapies, and will it be sustainable?
As usual I probably left the room with more questions than answers 😅 But allowing us that space might actually be more healthy than we think. In a purpose-driven field like life science and healthcare that seeks to benefit mankind and society, taking time to formulate the right questions, and question the underlying assumptions that define our conclusions (are they still valid and relevant today?) can be immensely valuable in ensuring we put our resources in the right places.
As Einstein said, “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.”
Thank you Mia Tillgren Moreau for inviting me to spend the day with you and your colleagues!
Our thought leader, Sarah Lidé, visited one of our members, AbbVie, at their Swedish headquarters yesterday in Solna to do a deep dive into the trends and developments in the life science industry.
#knowledgesharing #lifescience
Founder & Managing Director, Radia
2moThank you so much for having me! :) It was a great event!