Survey Suggests Pharma Industry Still Struggling with Digital Transformation

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The pharma industry is actively embracing new technologies like machine learning and AI, but new data suggests that the adoption is being hindered.¹ Aside from these new technologies, the pharma industry is still facing hurdles in general digital transformation.

GlobalData released the results of a survey focused on digital transformation in the pharma industry. According to the results, the industry still faces a lack of skills and talent in this area. This is slowing the integration of new systems and stalling initiatives.

In a press release, Urte Jakimaviciute, senior director of market research and strategic intelligence at GlobalData, said, “Shortage of talents that have specific digital skills continues to be a pressing issue for pharmaceutical companies that first experienced digital skills scarcity shortly after the arrival of COVID-19. Despite the growing demand for tech-savvy specialists, there is a limited supply of individuals possessing necessary expertise, and there is no quick solution for this.“

Jakimaviciute continued, “Larger corporations may have a wider scale of operations or a higher number of systems to digitalize, which requires more human resources to complete the process. As such, the absence of skills may make them unable to fully leverage the technologies that they invest in for digital transformation… The ongoing advancements in technologies also mean that skills can become easily outdated, making it critical for companies to continuously invest in talent acquisition and up-skilling.”

GlobalData also released the results of a study examining trends in global diabetes cases.² According to the results, diagnoses of prevalent cases of type 1 diabetes is expected to reach 3.16 million by 2033 across seven major markets.

In a press release, Alia Rafiq, MSc, epidemiologist at GlobalData, explained “The management of T1D over the past decades has vastly improved across the 7MM. This is because T1D patients are now better able to manage their symptoms through interventions like insulin pumps, minimizing the occurrence of life-threatening conditions like diabetic ketoacidosis. As a result, T1D patients also live long enough to pass T1D-associated genes to their offspring, causing these genes to accumulate in the population. This could explain why the number of diagnosed prevalent cases of T1D have increased.”

Rafiq continued, “The previous studies have found that the incidence of T1D in Europe and North America is slightly higher in men, while in Asia and Africa it is higher in women, which supports our findings. This, alongside the differences in the prevalence cases themselves, may be useful to consider when personalizing public health interventions to reach patients affected by T1D for the different markets.”

Sources

1. Lack of skills and talent still top hinderance for digital transformation in pharma, says GlobalData. GlobalData. November 15, 2024. https://www.globaldata.com/media/pharma/lack-skills-talent-still-top-hinderance-digital-transformation-pharma-says-globaldata/
2. Diagnosed prevalent cases of type 1 diabetes across 7MM set to reach 3.166 million in 2033, says GlobalData. GlobalData. November 18, 2024. https://www.globaldata.com/media/pharma/diagnosed-prevalent-cases-of-type-1-diabetes-across-7mm-set-to-reach-3-166-million-in-2033-says-globaldata/