Life Science Trends to Watch in 2024
What does the future hold for the life science sector as we head into 2024?
Like years past, there was a continued blending of digital technologies with scientific advancement. A recent Deloitte report boiled it down to three key trends: digital transformation, generative AI, and adoption of digital health tools.
In this post we explore each, as well as additional trends expected to shape healthcare and life science innovation in the year to come.
The Trend: AI and Machine Learning
AI and machine learning are increasingly being used to analyze large data sets to aid in drug discovery and development, understanding diseases, and developing personalized treatments.
What we’ve heard from our clients and community:
We continue to see companies built around the use of AI for life science research and innovation.
One top area is understanding drug efficacy before reaching the clinical trial stage (to assess the most likely drug candidates to be successful in clinical settings). This is being accomplished through proprietary platforms that enable rapid data analysis infinitely faster than humans can accomplish.
Regulatory authorities including the FDA are increasingly receiving Investigational New Drug (IND) applications that include AI and machine learning.
Business development implications:
Companies leveraging AI as part of their business model will need to prioritize education of the platform before the pitch can be made.
Business development interactions will rely on evidence in the form of supplementary scientific documents, fact sheets, and whitepapers to support the customer benefit.
The Trend: Generative AI
According to Deloitte, “more than 90% of biopharma and medtech respondents said they expect generative AI to have an impact on their organizations [in 2024].”
What we’ve heard from our clients and community:
In a few short months, our business development clients went from not knowing what generative AI was to utilizing it inside all aspects of their organizations.
Tools like ChatGPT have enabled them to create content, generate ideas, and assist with administrative tasks such as formatting, coding, and text editing.
Generative AI is also increasingly being used for research and discovery, and we expect the life sciences industry to invest more heavily in AI solutions, tools, and platforms.
Struggles remain around controlling information use, protecting IP, and ensuring confidentiality.
For content creation, there are also concerns about proper citation of sources, credibility and factual accuracy, and scientific integrity – all of which will increase in importance over time.
Business development implications:
We expect to see companies progressing with more accuracy and more efficiency along the drug development pipeline, which will speed up the need for strategic partnerships and licensing agreements.
A quicker timeline will ultimately lead to innovative breakthroughs happening more quickly and more often, which could drive investment and M&A activity.
More companies are expected to implement procedures and safeguards to protect their proprietary information.
The Trend: Gene Editing Continues
Gene editing has been in the spotlight since CRISPR’s discovery and applicability over the past decade, leading to powerful new treatments. Just last year, CRISPR was used to cure symptoms of sickle-cell disease by editing the genes in patients’ bone marrow.
What we’ve heard from our clients and community:
Cell and gene therapy developers are working to create more innovative therapies, which will open up new opportunities for precision (making sure the gene edits are done to the intended target sites).
We will continue to see attention and innovation in this exciting area, including clinical trials and regulatory submissions.
Business development implications:
As our understanding of the science continues, it’s likely that we will see continued advancements and new businesses created around gene editing IP and related technologies.
Key to advancing these developments will include forming relationships and partnerships with CROs and other service providers to determine efficacy and safety, as well as forming manufacturing relationships to produce resulting therapies.
The Trend: Health Wearables with Medical Applications
The global market for wearable technology is still significant and growing, but to date has focused more on health and wellness rather than medical applications.
What we’ve heard from our clients and community:
There is a gap in the market ready to be filled with devices for medically accurate purposes. The technology needs to catch up and be utilized properly in order to provide meaningful insights.
Consumer demand is high for prevention, but there may be less of a trend for treatment of disease.
Companies on the forefront of this emerging segment of wearables are tapping into technologies from other sectors.
Regulatory approvals will prove important for wearables categorized as medical devices.
Reimbursement will remain a challenge for digital devices.
Business development implications:
We expect to see more businesses seeking to form cross-discipline partnerships and research collaborations to develop technology that can reliably be applied to health and medicine.
Most big pharma have an established digital arm and are looking to drive personalized medicine.
Conclusion
2024 is sure to bring groundbreaking innovations across the life sciences, with AI, machine learning, and gene editing advancements at the forefront. We look forward to seeing the deals, licensing agreements, partnerships, manufacturing relationships, and M&A activity in the years to come as a result of these trends.
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Sosna + Co is a boutique, outsourced business development partner for the life sciences. From M&A advisory and licensing deals with Fortune 500 companies to uncovering the potential of savvy, new start-ups, the principal is simple: we work meticulously to uncover new opportunities that grow your business. Our network. Your growth. Contact us today to learn more.