Healthcare in Thoughts from the Centre
Accelerating the future: pioneering a new era in pharma R&D and scientific and technological innovations
By Márcia Costa, Manager, and Emily May, Manager, Centre for Health Solutions
This week we have published the fifth and sixth predictions from our Accelerating the future: Life Sciences and Healthcare predictions 2030 report. These latest two predictions explore the Convergence of AI technologies and human expertise in pharma R&D and Interdependent innovations in science and technology are resharing treatment paradigms. Both consider what the world of medicine will look like in 2030. Our fifth prediction explores how end-to-end digitalisation, automation, and integration of AI technologies has transformed R&D, enabling quicker and more accurate decision-making in drug discover and significantly improved the productivity, efficiency and patient-centricity of clinical trials. The sixth prediction examines how innovative science and technologies that are available today, like quantum computing and AI, genomics and population health data profiles, have transformed the diagnostic and treatment paradigms. Our blog this week highlights the key insights in these two predictions.
Accelerating the future: towards Intelligent and sustainable healthcare
By Márcia Costa, Research Manager, and Emily May, Research Manager, Centre for Health Solutions
This week we have published the third and fourth predictions from our Accelerating the future: Life Sciences and Healthcare predictions 2030 report. While the first two predictions focused on the healthcare consumer and the consumer health industry, this second pair focus on developing more accessible, equitable, high quality, cost-effective and sustainable healthcare systems. Specifically, our third prediction assesses how the AI-enabled digitalisation of hospitals and other providers might help deliver the ambition for 5P (predictive, proactive, personalised, participatory and precise) healthcare; and our fourth prediction examines the healthcare system’s significant role in addressing the climate crisis. Our blog this week highlights the key insights in these two predictions: Intelligent Healthcare and the democratisation of health data; and Climate resilience and sustainable healthcare systems.
Health equity in Europe: A collective responsibility to act
Stephanie Delanbanque, Senior Consultant, Maria João Cruz, Manager, and Elizabeth Hampson, Partner
Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared health a fundamental human right in 1948, it is only in recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, that there has been growing awareness of the health and economic impacts of health inequities within and between European countries. In response, the Deloitte Health Equity Institute (DHEI) has engaged 40 leaders across organisations in the European healthcare and life sciences ecosystem to explore their actions and attitudes towards health equity and what can be done to address current and future drivers of health inequity. Our blog this week shares the key findings from the Deloitte’s Health Equity Institute’s (DHEI) s first cross-European report, Health equity in Europe: a collective responsibility to act.
Accelerating the future: How consumer health companies are meeting the increased expectations of a more knowledgeable and empowered consumers
By Marcia Costa, Research Manager, and Emily May, Research Manager, Centre for Health Solutions
Technological advancements, acceleration in innovation and shifts in individuals’ expectations, are driving an unprecedented transformation in consumer health. Consumers are keen to improve their health literacy, enjoy equitable access and obtain personalised products and services; and the consumer health (CH) industry is energised by these changing expectations and has increased its focus on promoting wellbeing and extending healthy lifespans. This week we published the first two of ten predictions that inform our report ‘Accelerating the future: Life Sciences and Healthcare predictions 2030’. While our predictions are mostly optimistic and deliberately provocative, we acknowledge some of the constraints that need to be overcome to realise the prediction by 2030. This week’s blog explores the first two predictions: Consumers are the CEOs of their own health and The rise of a dynamic consumer health market.
Some healthtech investors are shifting from growth to value
By Adnan Qamar, consulting managing director, and Steve Gabster, senior manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Healthcare technology, or healthtech, is any technology, including medical devices, IT systems and software, algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and blockchain, designed to support healthcare organisations.[1] These technologies are an integral part of modern healthcare. This week’s blog which first appeared as a Center for Health Solution’s Health Forward blog, shares insights from our US colleagues analysis of healthtech investment and market trends to identify the themes and patterns that are attracting healthtech investment. It explores the recent market trend towards quality and value alongside six priority areas for healthtech investors.
World Mosquito Day: could scientific innovations deliver a malaria-free future?
By Márcia Costa, Manager, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
On 20 August 1897, British doctor Sir Ronald Ross proved that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes. World Mosquito Day is celebrated on 20 August each year to raise awareness of the dangers posed by mosquito-borne diseases and the urgent need for investment and political commitment to eradicate these diseases. This year's theme is 'Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world'. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that malaria, in 2022 alone, affected almost 250 million people and killed some 608,000, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.[1] Climate change also poses a significant risk in increasing the transmission of malaria and could increase the inequity of impact across the globe. This week’s blog explores the inequitable high burden of malaria the current approach to reducing this burden and some of the exciting innovations that could prove to be game changers in creating a malaria-free world.
The role of innovative R&D and GenAI in helping to tackle AMR
By Márcia Costa and Emily May, Managers, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
Antimicrobials have drastically changed modern medicine and extended the average human lifespan by 23 years.[1] However, over the past 30 years there has been a gradual decline in antibiotic R&D with rising levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) posing a significant global threat to human health.[2] In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that AMR was linked to around five million deaths and if this trend continues, annual AMR-related deaths could reach 10 million by 2050, with an estimated cost of $100 trillion to the global economy.[3] Although 16 new antibiotics have been approved since 2017, many pathogens still have no treatments as most new antibiotics are associations or improvements of existing molecules, originally discovered over 30 years ago.[4] There is therefore an urgent need for more innovative mechanisms of action and new chemical classes of antimicrobials. This blog explores recent developments in incentivising antibiotic R&D, the current R&D pipeline and the potential of GenAI in identifying new therapies and reducing the risk of AMR.
Closing the world’s breastfeeding gap: How do we build a supportive breastfeeding framework for all?
By Sinaida Cherubin, Consultant, Deloitte and Márcia Costa, Manager, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), is held each year in the first week of August to promote the benefits of breastfeeding and its adoption worldwide. Substantial evidence shows that breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health, development and survival. A 2016 Lancet study showed that more than 820,000 children’s lives could be saved per year if all children younger than 24 months were optimally breastfed.1 While globally the number of infants under six months who are breast fed has increased by more than 10 per cent to 48 percent in the past decade, 52 per cent are not.2 Although some women might not be able or willing to breastfeed due to difficulties in establishing breastfeeding and other socio-cultural issues, many could breastfeed for longer if they had the right support. This year’s WBW theme is ‘Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All’ and focuses on how families, societies, communities and health workers can support breastfeeding.3 This week, we explore the benefits of breastfeeding and global strategies to support new mothers.
Midyear Global Outlook for Life Science: Three disruptive forces may impact life sciences beyond 2024
By Vicky Levy, Global Life Sciences sector leader, Deloitte
This week, we are sharing with you a blog that initially appeared as a US Health Forward blog by our Global Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry Leader Vicky Levy. This blog shares her assessment of our 2024 Global Life Sciences Sector Outlook and the three main potential disrupters that are driving change in the industry in 2024.
Activating health equity: The vital role of Medical Affairs
By Elizabeth Hampson, Partner and lead for Deloitte’s Health Equity Institute Europe, and Zara King, Senior Manager, Monitor Deloitte
Health equity is the fair and just opportunity for everyone to fulfil their human potential in all aspects of health and wellbeing. While the importance of addressing health equity is now more widely acknowledged, significant gaps in outcomes remain, including disparities in life expectancy within and across countries, lack of diversity in clinical trials, and over two million people globally with no access to essential medicines.1 Achieving health equity requires life science and healthcare organisations to deliberately design and build systems that advance equity as a priority. Medical Affairs professionals are uniquely placed to lead and shape this agenda, by bringing insights into the organisation, galvanising medical leaders to address society’s most pressing equity challenges, and shaping the wider ecosystem in which they operate. This blog presents the key takeaways from a roundtable Deloitte held with Medical Affairs experts discussing how their role in advancing health equity could evolve.