The biopharmaceutical industry is making a fundamental shift from a product focus to a patient and health system outcome focus. Digital solutions are injecting process improvement and additional value across the enterprise, from R&D to Commercial to Medical Affairs. It is this combination of changes that led Accenture to conduct a survey of top global R&D executives to see how these dynamics are impacting their organizations.

1. Industry at a
Crossroads:
The Rise of Digital in
the Outcome-Driven
R&D Organization
Accenture Life Sciences
Rethink Reshape Restructure
…for better patient outcomes

2. 2
About the Research
Responses from 76 executives from the US and
Europe, representing diverse R&D organizations
within pharmaceutical companies.
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.
Revenue of Respondent Organization
Company Headquarters & Respondent Location
United
States
35
Germany
10
United
Kingdom
11
France
10
Switzerland
10
30$1-5B
$6-10B
$11-25B
>$25B
17
14
15
86% of respondents were the
firm’s most senior R&D executive
or senior divisional R&D executive.
14% of respondents were the
firm’s senior R&D technology
executive.

3. 3
Key Findings
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.
Improving patient
outcomes ranked as
R&D’s #1 priority.
1
Digital is a primary
driver of becoming
more focused on
patient outcomes.
2
Adoption of digital
is inconsistent; half of
respondents are “all
in” while others are
exploring or waiting.
3 Companies taking
advantage of digital
report stronger
performance in other
R&D capabilities.
4

4. Improving patient outcomes ranked
as R&D’s #1 priority
99%
report that
transforming their
R&D model to
be more patient
outcome focused
is critical or very
important.
39% of
respondents
confirmed that
focusing more on
patient outcomes
was already a key
priority of R&D
organizations.
49% stated that
it should be the
top priority.
Developing more
targeted therapies
rather than broad
based therapies
Achieving faster
time to market
from First in
Human to Approval
Improving R&D
productivity via
increased quantity
and quality of NMEs
37% 36% 36%
Other key strategic imperatives to facilitate getting medicines to patients faster were identified as:
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 44
2015
2020
1

5. 5
Digital is a primary driver of becoming
more focused on patient outcomes
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.
25% of respondents said that digital
will have the greatest impact on their
firm’s ability to transform their R&D
model to become more patient-focused.
When asked in which areas digital technologies are
having the greatest impact on the industry:
2
Improving R&D
Productivity through
Digitized processes
22%
Enhancing Quality
and Compliance to
meeting changing
regulatory requirements
18%
Cost Reduction
in R&D to improve
productivity
12%
Integrating or improving
R&D Operations in key
functional areas
(Clinical/Reg/PV/Med
Affairs)
11%
*Other (Combined responses for
four answers including: leveraging
data to improve development,
predictive R&D, home trials, and
better collaboration)
12%*

6. 6
Adoption of digital is inconsistent; half of respondents
are “all in” while others are exploring or waiting
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.
Despite the shared belief that digital can
deliver sharper patient focus and improved
outcomes, and the clear impact digital has
had in transforming other sectors of pharma,
there appears to be an even split among
survey respondents about their own
organization’s rate of adoption of digital.
are “waiting and
seeing” how digital is
deployed before
ramping up capability.
3%
characterize their firm’s
efforts as exploring how
digital might improve their
organizations.
of executives confirm
that their companies
are already adopting
digital.
42%55%
3
6

7. 7
Companies taking advantage of digital report
stronger performance in other R&D capabilities
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.
Survey data tells us that the companies
that have adopted digital reported better
performance in R&D Capabilities. Those
companies that have made a commitment
to digital tend to underscore its importance
with organizational changes.
Percentage of respondents who answered “Strong” when asked about current performance in each area:
4
Harnessing
real-world
data
analytics
60%
50%
Core
process
redesign
of TPP
and CDP
55%
34%
Using digital
to make
more
effective use
of Medical
Science
Liaisons
(MSLs)
57%
47%
Collaborating
with other
commercial
organizations
60%
41% Adopting Digital
Exploring Digital

8. 8
Companies
at a
Crossroads
Together these findings suggest that
Life Sciences firms, and the R&D
organizations within them, are AT A
CROSSROADS in terms of their digital
adoption and enablement.
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.

9. 9
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9Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.
Authors:
Nicole F. Cohen – nicole.f.cohen@accenture.com
Thomas K. Kelly, Jr. – thomas.k.kelly.jr@accenture.com
To learn
more, visit:
accenture.com/
rd-journey