Digital Measures in Drug Development: Is Industry Bought in?

Digital measures have the potential to revolutionise drug development. However, pharmaceutical companies have been slow to fully utilise these measures due to their high costs and lack of standardised applications across therapeutic areas. Despite these challenges, the benefits of digital measures in drug development are well understood across the pharmaceutical industry. 

Key milestones have been achieved and experts predict a shift towards using digital measures as primary endpoints and supporting label claims in the future, with digital endpoints expected to support label claims within the next 3-5 years. 

Collaborative Action: Driving Adoption of Digital Measures

The industry's pursuit of optimised drug development should incentivise the use of digital measures in both clinical trials and, ultimately, real-world applications. To expand the use of digital measures in clinical development, stakeholders need to work together through industry consortiums, regulatory standardisation, and sharing of validation data. 

By embracing digital measures, pharmaceutical companies can accelerate drug development, improve patient outcomes, and drive innovation in healthcare more broadly. Pharmaceutical companies can continue to compete on assets, but should not compete on (digital) endpoints. We require industry collaborations in order to usher in a new era of medicine.

In this report, we present an expert-led analysis of the state of digital measures in drug development. More specifically, the report delves into:

• Defining digital measures and the need for standardisation

• Benefits and challenges of digital measures in drug development

• Taking stock: Current and future adoption of digital measures in drug development 

• How pharmaceutical companies can drive the adoption of digital measures  

Download the report to learn what our HealthXL community experts believe is in store for the future of digital measures in drug development and how best to prepare for it.