Article

Insights from Pharma 2025: Unlocking innovation: New models and next-gen tech for success

At the Pharma 2025 conference in Barcelona, global industry leaders, innovators, and changemakers gathered to explore the evolving landscape of pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Through a series of in-depth interviews with experts from across the sector, Cencora uncovered valuable perspectives on the challenges and opportunities shaping the future. These include accelerating access to innovation, enhancing patient-centricity, and harnessing the power of data and digital transformation.

These conversations reflect the pulse of an industry in motion, committed to driving smarter, more sustainable healthcare solutions in an increasingly complex world. Whether focusing on regulatory evolution, market access, technological breakthroughs, or cross-sector collaboration, each expert offered a unique perspective on how pharma is adapting to meet the needs of tomorrow.

Sonny Shergill, Vice President Commercial Digital Health, at AstraZeneca, along with Poka Cui, Director at Vintura, part of Cencora, and Guillaume Nebout, Vice President, International Commercialization Services at Cencora, discussed the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation in healthcare, during a dynamic conversation about how AI is reshaping the pharmaceutical landscape and improving patient outcomes.

The growing role of AI and digital innovation

Shergill started by emphasizing that AI represents a continuation of the pharmaceutical industry's efforts over the last several years. He added that, the advent of generative AI presents an opportunity for faster and more personalized engagement with stakeholders, such as physicians and patients. “They expect timely, useful information in the format, content and channel they prefer,” he noted, highlighting the need for personalized care.

When discussing how digital innovation can enhance commercialization efforts, he pointed out that generative AI could significantly accelerate core processes within pharma. Sharing insights from AstraZeneca, he explained, “We are reviewing our core processes, disaggregating them and looking for opportunities to automate”, emphasizing automation's potential to streamline content development, regulatory processes, and approvals while retaining the essential human element.

Focusing on patient outcomes and data analytics

The conversation shifted to the impact of AI on patient outcomes. Shergill highlighted the potential of using multimodal data and simulations to predict patient outcomes based on biomarker data. “It’s all about patient outcomes. That’s why we come to work,” he stated.

Asked about leveraging advanced analytics to drive decision-making, he highlighted that “Everything starts with the data. It's your crude oil.” He then explained that AstraZeneca had developed an in-house capability around data science and AI, known as the AZ Brain platform, to facilitate data collection and actionable insights across the organization¹.

Addressing challenges and ensuring scalability

The speakers acknowledged the common issue of “pilotitis” in pharma, where multiple digital solutions are tested without scaling. Shergill shared that AstraZeneca had shifted their approach from traditional pilots to scalable experiments designed for quick implementation. This shift emphasizes the importance of considering scalability from the outset of solution development.

In discussing the challenges of measuring the value of innovations, Shergill underscored the importance of establishing benchmarks and conducting A/B testing to assess the impact of new solutions. He provided examples of how data analytics can identify gaps in care pathways, using social determinants of health data to inform strategies for improving outcomes.

As the conversation concluded, Shergill conveyed this enthusiasm for the future of AI in healthcare. “I’m incredibly excited by technology,” he said, recognizing the responsibility of leading innovation in a rapidly evolving industry. By integrating AI and digital solutions, the pharmaceutical sector is well-positioned to enhance patient outcomes and drive commercialization success.

Watch the full conversation

Watch the full discussion to hear more from Sonny Shergill about the innovative applications of AI in pharma and how these developments can enhance patient care and streamline commercialization efforts.

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The contents of this piece contain marketing statements and do not include legal advice.

¹The Companies That Won Data Science Excellence Awards 2022
https://analyticsindiamag.com/deep-tech/the-companies-that-won-data-science-excellence-awards-2022/

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