Transforming Patient Health With Digital Solutions
Our interview with health leaders Rachel Sha & Heather Bell of Sanofi
Rachel Sha is the Vice President, Digital Business Development at Sanofi. She negotiates agreements with leading digital companies to support and grow Sanofi’s digital strategy. Heather Bell is Senior Vice-President, Global Head of Digital and Analytics at Sanofi. As Head of Corporate Strategy, she defined Sanofi’s digital strategy. Today she leads a cross-functional team that is implementing Sanofi’s digital strategy. We talked to Rachel and Heather about Sanofi’s digital transformation.
Q: Why is Sanofi investing in digital healthcare?
A: Sanofi is investing in digital healthcare with an aim to improve patient outcomes. We want to empower patients and the physicians who support them by connecting with them in the world in which they live by providing them with the information and disease management tools that improve outcomes. Our objective is to develop and bring therapies to patients faster and, hopefully, reduce overall healthcare costs. Further, we are leveraging the insights gained from large data sets to help healthcare professionals ensure their patients are getting solutions that best fit their needs.
Q: Digital health is such a broad term. Where is Sanofi focusing?
A: Sanofi has a clear set of digital priorities: digital clinical trial operations, digital factory (manufacturing and supply chain) using data and analytics and in particular, real world evidence, multi-channel engagement of our customers, improving patient outcomes through drugs+ solutions (what you might think of as digital medicines), and building a diabetes solutions business that integrates care for the patient. So, you can see that we are both applying digital to improve our core drug business and,in the case of diabetes, developing new business models.
We’ve made great progress in the past year, attracting new digital talent, starting work with new partners, running pilots and launching products. To take one example,we are a few months into the commercial launch of Diabeo, a digital solution that helps people with diabetes better manage their disease. It was developed in collaboration with Voluntis, a French start-up. In France, the technology is fully reimbursed, and the initial market response has been very positive.
Q: What are the cost implications?
A: In the long-term, and as we have seen in so many other sectors, the effective use of technology should drive down costs. If we cut years off of drug development timelines, we will likely reduce development costs. If we can help patients be more adherent, then we may be able to reduce physician visits and hospital admissions, thereby reducing overall healthcare system costs. Near term we plan to invest in digital to achieve these ambitions.
Q: Are you working with startups? How have you partnered with them?
A: We are excited to be working with some of the world’s leading companies, big and small, to transform patient health through digital. By way of example, we are working with:
- TriNetX to improve clinical trial design and patient recruitment. We are excited to announce TriNetX as our newest digital partner.
- MDConnect and TrialSpark to reduce the time it takes to get our drugs to market by recruiting patients for clinical trials online.
- Science 37 to reinvent clinical trials. Their unique platform moves the clinical trial site out of the hospital and into the patient’s home. This reduces the time it takes to recruit patients and increases the retention and diversity of patients who participate.
- Verily. Our pioneering joint venture, Onduo, is developing personalized solutions that combine devices, software, and professional care to potentially improve outcomes for people living with diabetes.
- Evidation Health, leaders in behavioral analytics. They generate insights from real-life data on behavior patterns to enable us to identify new digital biomarkers and new interventions that may improve patient health.
The form of relationship we adopt depends on the partner and on our respective objectives. Each situation is unique. Our relationships vary from equity investment or collaboration to preferred partner or joint venture.
Q: Why is Sanofi interested in StartUp Health?
A: StartUp Health has developed an impressive ecosystem of entrepreneurs, investors, and large companies, with some genuinely great minds. They are committed, for the long-term, to improving patient health and have ambitious targets. That’s exactly the approach we’re taking at Sanofi. We’re excited to be working with such dynamic, like minded organizations.
