Digitization is easily understood as a high level of automation, if only we have new tools for efficiency
.

The same goes for the pharmaceutical industry
.

Research on the world's largest pharmaceutical companies shows that companies that are consciously and systematically facing the threat of competition will make smart choices - embracing the digital world
faster than ever .

• In January 2022 alone , three major pharmaceutical companies , Merck, Amgen, and Sanofi , have reached cooperation with digital companies, with the cooperation amount exceeding US$600 million, US$1.

  
  9 billion, and US$5.
  2 billion in
  
  

The world's top pharmaceutical companies are undergoing fierce digital competition.

- 01 -

Merck: A lot of investment in AI R&D

In fact, even the relatively conservative, high-barrier pharmaceutical industry has embraced digital a lot longer than you might think
.

As early as the 1980s, Merck began to design drugs through computer assistance
.

According to data from CB Insights, in the five years from 2016 to 2020, the venture capital investment of pharmaceutical companies has been in a state of steady growth, among which artificial intelligence has become a key investment direction: 

• Their investment in AI startups in healthcare has grown more than 10-fold since 2018
  .

  
  
  

• The number of pharmaceutical companies participating in related investments is also steadily increasing, reaching 9 in 2019 and 8 in 2020
  .

  
  
  

▲Source: CB Insights

Merck has been the most active investor since 2016, investing primarily through its Health Innovation Fund and accelerator programs
.

• In 2020 alone, Merck invested in 2 AI startups
  .

  
  
  

Digital transformation is an important development direction of Merck, which involves AI+ drugs, clinical research, patient services, digital marketing , etc.

Recently (March 8, 2022), Merck , which has been very active in the digital field, announced new digital initiatives
.

Merck China announced the establishment and appointment of a new data protection officer , and appointed Cui Xiaoling as the data protection officer, reporting directly to Anna Tian, ​​President of Merck China
.

At the same time, Merck China merged the digital interaction and transformation and business operations departments to establish a new business excellence department, and appointed Simon Jessup as the head, reporting directly to Anna Tian, ​​President of Merck China
.

This change may be related to the "data security" controversy in the process of digitalization
.

- 02 -

Pfizer : Aims to 'Lead the Pharma Industry's Digital Race'

In 2021, Pfizer will undergo a key transformation to become an innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on cutting-edge science
.
In the context of the new era, Pfizer has formulated five "bold initiatives" to promote the realization of its core goals, one of which is to "take the lead in the digital competition in the pharmaceutical industry "
.

As an established pharmaceutical company, Pfizer has shown great enthusiasm for digital transformation, and has made attempts in AI+ drug research and development, big data, digital marketing, and patient services .

This big cosmic factory entered digitization with great fanfare in 2016
.

This year, Pfizer and IBM's famous Watson Health (Watson Health) cooperated, expecting to use Watson's computing system for drug discovery, to accelerate Pfizer's new drug target identification in the field of tumor immunology, combination therapy research and Development
of patient selection strategies, etc.

Pfizer is one of the first organizations in the world to utilize the Watson platform for new drug discovery
.
At the time, Pfizer's collaboration with IBM was dubbed "a new era in drug discovery.

"

However, everyone knows the story behind.
On January 22, 2022, IBM announced the sale of Watson Health.
It is expected that Francisco Partner will acquire it for $1 billion and complete the transaction in the second quarter of this year
.

In 2018, Pfizer cooperated with Chinese AI pharmaceutical company Jingtai Technology to establish a small molecule drug simulation algorithm platform to drive small molecule drug innovation
.
Pfizer is one of the few foreign pharmaceutical giants that chooses to partner with Chinese start-ups in this area of ​​using AI for drug discovery .

In the following years , Pfizer has successively reached cooperation agreements with Atomwise, CytoReason, Concerto Health, Insilico Medicine and other companies around using AI for drug discovery and finding real-world data .

In January 2022, Pfizer announced an expansion of its existing strategic collaboration with PostEra to establish an artificial intelligence laboratory (AI Lab) to jointly advance multiple drug discovery programs, with an initial focus on oncology and anti-coronavirus therapeutics
.
The total value of the transaction amounted to $261 million
.

At the same time, Pfizer is accelerating R&D through investments (participating in a UK government-led £1bn AI investment initiative) and alliances with universities (joining the MIT Alliance for Machine Learning in Drug Discovery and Synthesis)
.

Using digital to empower clinical trial management and improve patient experience is also part of Pfizer's digitalization efforts
.

for example,

• Also in 2016, Pfizer entered into a partnership with another enterprise-level software company on par with IBM -- choosing the clinical trial management and monitoring cloud service from Oracle 's clinical trial component
  .
  This could help Pfizer share data with its CROs (Icon, Parexel, PPD )
  .
  
  

• In 2017, Pfizer partnered with two universities and a wearables company, Striiv, to provide hemophiliacs with an educational game as well as a watch->
  .
  
  

• In 2020, when the epidemic hit, Pfizer China used digital means to launch the SAFE patient safety new service platform .
  Patients can provide online consultation, online drug purchase, convenient drug search (cloud pharmacy) and other patient services
  .
  In the same year, Pfizer and Ali Health launched a strategic cooperation to jointly create an innovative model of large-scale vaccination, forming a complete online full-chain, high-quality vaccination service
  .
  

- 03 -

Sanofi: 'Digital course management of patients' is the focus

Sanofi is an active player in advancing digitalization
.
Recently , 3 digital-related cooperations have been reached within 3 months , mainly involving drug research and development in the three fields of tumor, vaccine and immunity .

• In November 2021, collaborate with AI "unicorn" Owkin to develop new treatments for 4 specific types of cancer (non-small cell lung cancer, triple negative breast cancer, mesothelioma and multiple myeloma);

• In November 2021, it was authorized by Baidu mRNA sequence design algorithm (LinearDesign technology) for the design of vaccines and therapeutic products
  .
  
  

• In January 2022, reached a research collaboration license agreement of up to $ 5.
  2 billion with Exscientia to jointly develop up to 15 novel small-scale drugs in oncology and immunology through the end-to-end AI-driven personalized medicine platform developed by Exscientia.
  Molecular drug candidates
  .
  

Obviously, in new drug R&D and clinical trials, it has become a new trend to improve efficiency through digital means such as big data and artificial intelligence
.
In addition, Sanofi also focuses on " digital patient course management "
.

Sanofi's product pipeline is concentrated in the field of chronic diseases.
Since entering the Chinese market for nearly 40 years, Sanofi has introduced more than 40 products in the field of chronic diseases to Chinese patients
.
Digitalization plays a prominent role in chronic disease management—chronic disease management lies not only in the treatment of 1%, but also in the management of 99%
.

In order to achieve the goal of "digital course management of patients", Sanofi is continuously taking actions:

• In 2018, Sanofi's digital department established the "Innovation Hub" ( iHub ) to build an innovation ecosystem
  .
  
  

  
  

• In 2020, iHub entered into a partnership with the start-up Zhenluo Technology to jointly develop intelligent anti-fibrillation hardware, aiming to explore digital chronic disease management solutions for Parkinson's disease
  .
  
  

  
  

• In June 2021, Sanofi established a subsidiary company, Anmulai Smart Health Technology (Shanghai) Co.
  ,
  Ltd.
  Anmulai will focus on patient needs, and is committed to combining digital technology with professional nursing team intervention to provide patients with professional and personalized smart chronic disease management services and assist doctors in chronic disease management
  .
  

  At the same time, Anmulai announced to cooperate with JD Health, JD Allianz Insurance, etc.
  to jointly create an innovative model of chronic disease management in China, providing a wide range of health care guarantees and digital innovative medical solutions for the majority of patients
  .
  

In the face of the epidemic, Sanofi and Shenzhen Olive Branch Health Information Co.
, Ltd.
will launch an upgraded version of the smart unmanned vaccination cabin at the 2021 CIIE .
The system integrates cloud-based vaccination registration, smart pre-check and unmanned vaccination It reduces the complex links of vaccination and provides strong support for large-scale vaccination
.

It is reported that Sanofi's digital transformation is divided into two stages
.

• The first phase, 2020-2022, is the construction phase of Sanofi's digital capabilities .
  By building tools, capabilities, mindsets and infrastructure, simplifying IT systems, strengthening Sanofi's data and digital foundation, and developing new digital business models , laying the foundation for various projects and solutions for better digitalization in the future
  .
  

• The second stage, from 2023 to 2025, is a process of comprehensive promotion and upgrading.
  While actively participating in the construction of the digital medical ecosystem, Sanofi's digital business revenue will be improved
  .
  

Sanofi is currently in the phase of building its digital capabilities
.

What needs to be pointed out is that Sanofi has a dedicated digital team, which reports directly to the global CEO at the global level, truly promoting digital transformation at a strategic height, and at the same time being able to get corresponding guarantees in execution
.
The same structure is used in China, where the digital team reports directly to the president of Greater China
.

- 04 -

Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Focus on Digital Therapeutics

Since 2017, Takeda has partnered with at least three AI drug discovery and preclinical companies
.

In 2021, as part of Takeda's digital innovation ecosystem, the Takeda Innovation Incubator will be officially launched
.

Emerging "digital therapeutics" are also a focus for Takeda
.

Digital Therapeutics are software-driven, evidence-based interventions designed to treat, manage or prevent disease
.
From the perspective of digital medicine as a whole, digital therapy leads digital medicine from "connection" and "computing" to the era of "disease intervention", and truly applies digital technology to the core links of diagnosis and treatment
.

The users of digital therapy are usually diagnosed patients, and such users usually have four categories of needs: health improvement, economic value, life>From the perspective of pharmaceutical companies, the first explosion point of digital therapy is Improve compliance
.
There is a saying, "As hard as it is to follow the doctor's orders, the digital therapy will be so hot"
.

Chronic diseases, mental diseases, and tumors are all very good entry points for digital therapy
.
Takeda Pharmaceutical has a layout in these areas
.

• In 2016, Takeda Pharmaceutical launched a wearable digital technology pilot program, focusing on inflammatory bowel disease management.
  The iBData program was installed on wearable watches to track patients' symptoms and their life>
  .
  

There are not many digital therapy players entering the field of mental illness treatment, and Takeda Pharmaceutical is a leader in this field
.

• In 2017, Takeda Pharmaceutical entered into a research cooperation with Cognition Kit, an American technology company, to install a specially designed app on the Apple Watch to monitor and evaluate the cognitive ability of depression patients on their own mental health
  .
  
  

In the Chinese market, Takeda Pharmaceuticals was one of the first companies to receive registration for digital therapeutics
.

• On January 26, 2021, the management tool myPKFiT® under the guidance of the pharmacokinetics (PK) of hemophilia A under Takeda was launched for the first time nationwide
  .
  
  

  myPKFiT® is the first management tool approved by the National Medical Products Administration in China to support hemophilia A under the guidance of pharmacokinetics (PK), when used in combination with Promethazine® (recombinant human coagulation factor VIII for injection), it can reduce the Bleeding risk, optimize the patient's treatment effect and drug accessibility, enhance the patient's treatment confidence and improve compliance, and help patients achieve the treatment goal of "zero bleeding"
  .
  
  

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, digitalization is not a multiple-choice question, but digitalization mobilizes all directions and ubiquitous forces to sweep everyone in
.

Therefore, in fact, in addition to the above three companies, the world's top pharmaceutical companies have different levels of layout in the digital field, and each has its own characteristics
.
for example:

• AstraZeneca is far ahead of other pharmaceutical companies in the number of papers published in the direction of AI drug research and development;

• AbbVie is very low-key to promote its digital layout, and it can only be seen on some digital enterprise partners;
  

• Diversified pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is digitally advancing all lines of business
  .
  
  

But in any case, from the current point of view, for these pharmaceutical giants, it seems that they have the same ultimate digital goal - to create "patient-centered" personalized services, around the whole life cycle process of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Provide patients with personalized services, and the whole process of data collection drives business insights
.

If we say that, this goal is the future of digitalization of pharmaceutical companies
.

Well, at this stage, everything is still in the early stages
.