According to a new report, About 63 percent of healthcare and pharmaceutical industry professionals in North America expected disruption to digitalization initiatives in their business units due to inflation. That’s a massive load of horse shit!

“Rising labor costs and raw materials have become a dominant topic of 2022. Inflation is expected to put some pressure on the profit growth of pharma businesses, resulting in reduced investment activities that may impact digital transformation projects,” said Elton Kwok, Market Research Manager of Pharma at GlobalData.”Rising labor costs and raw materials have become a dominant topic of 2022. Inflation is expected to put some pressure on the profit growth of pharma businesses, resulting in reduced investment activities that may impact digital transformation projects,” said Elton Kwok, Market Research Manager of Pharma at GlobalData.

“So let’s examine this statement. What’s putting” pressure on profit growth” is Wall Street, not inflation. Wall Street always wants to know where new developments are coming from, even if you are making hundreds of millions in continued business.” So let’s examine this statement. What’s putting “pressure on profit growth” is Wall Street, not inflation. Wall Street always wants to know where new growth is coming from, even if you are making hundreds of millions in continued business.

Elton Kwok, Market Research Manager of Pharma at GlobalData, said, “digitalization requires funding, time, and talent, and inflation and costs pressures may force companies to scale back focus and investment in these projects.” Now that’s more like it.

I’m hearing that any digital project that is”new and untried” will have difficulty getting approved. What senior pharma executives want now are tactics proven to provide ROI. As one manager told me,” in 23, we’re going to have to stick with what true and tested tactics”.”I’m hearing that any digital project that is “new and untried” will have difficulty getting approved. What senior pharma executives want now are tactics proven to provide ROI. As one manager told me, “in 23, we’re going to have to stick with what true and tested tactics”.

Unfortunately, most people have become online health seekers and need help making complex health decisions. There are enormous opportunities for pharma companies to fill the void of online misinformation, but it does require a budget, although not a HUGE budget.

Take, for example, content. We know what content drives longer engagement times on websites, but there is virtually no cost in asking your thought leaders to write content based on questions within your health category.

Want to reach HCPs? Don’t waste money on your sales force; use Medscape to reach your targeted HCPs. Yes, it costs money, but Medscape can provide you with a proven ROI instead of online tools like ePocrates which interrupt physicians at a time when they don’t want to be interrupted.

Then there is the talent issue. It’s hard to retain talent when you only give them a 3% raise and their company health insurance is going up 7-10%. The biggest challenge for talent is attracting them to a culture where even small ideas and changes require weeks of meetings and PowerPoints.

Truth be told is that pharma is finally aware that 80% of voters want lower drug prices.

By one estimate, the National Institutes of Health spent $17 billion on vaccine technologies fundamental to the Covid-19 vaccine. More recently, the United States Operation Warp Speed poured billions into development. And according to a 2021 study, 95.5 percent of the funding behind AstraZeneca’s vaccine came from the British government.

Despite this massive influx of public cash, the resulting Covid-19 vaccines generated enormous profits for the corporations that brought them to market. Moderna’s vaccine, for example, created at least five billionaires — an illustration of the current drug development system in which research is publicly funded, but corporations profit.

Take the drug enzalutamide, which is used to treat prostate cancer. It was discovered and patented at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2006, using funding from NIH and the Department of Defense. It has since been classified as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization. But UCLA licensed the drug out. It is now produced by Pfizer and sold under the brand name Xtandi.

Xtandi is highly effective, but it costs almost $13,000 per month, and even patients in the U.S. struggle to afford it. Meanwhile, to protect their patent, UCLA challenged a decision that made generic versions of the drug available in India, taking their case as far as a high court in New Delhi. UCLA won, and enzalutamide is now only available under the brand name Xtandi in India. It costs nearly 30 times the average per capita income, making it inaccessible for many.

Pharma IS a big business, and patients are damned. Disruption is a side effect of pleasing Wall Street.