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How is AI solving pharma's speed-to-market challenge?

Accelerating Personalization

Smarter, Faster, Bolder AI


Avinob Roy, Vice President & General Manager of Global Commercial Product Offerings at IQVIA, spoke with 

 about how advancements in AI, particularly agentic AI, are reshaping the future of commercial operations in life sciences. From understanding disease landscapes and identifying patient populations to optimizing brand strategy and field engagement, Avinob outlines how AI companions are augmenting decision-making across the entire commercial value chain. Drawing on real-world experience, Avinob offers an actionable perspective on what it takes to scale AI successfully and how organizations can drive meaningful value in everyday workflows.


How AI is transforming the full spectrum of commercial operations—from market assessment to field execution—by acting as a strategic companion across the value chain.

Distinguishing between hype and reality in the current AI environment, and what it takes to move from proof-of-concept to scalable, production-ready solutions.

The foundational elements required for successful AI adoption in life sciences, including the critical role of data infrastructure, domain expertise, and cross-functional alignment.

Understanding AI's actual role in commercial life sciences operations. 

Smarter, Faster, Bolder: AI’s New Role in Pharma Strategy

The management of lung cancer brain metastases has seen significant advancements, with a focus on personalized treatment strategies. The integration of targeted therapies and immunotherapies has improved patient outcomes, offering more effective and less invasive options compared to traditional methods. Stereotactic radiosurgery and whole-brain radiation therapy remain crucial, but their roles are evolving with the advent of novel systemic therapies. Multidisciplinary approaches are essential for optimizing treatment plans, considering factors such as genetic mutations, patient performance status, and potential side effects. Ongoing research continues to refine these strategies, aiming for improved survival and quality of life.

Providing confidence to patients sent medication

Monitor the integrity of patient samples 

The management of lung cancer brain metastases has seen significant advancements, with a focus on personalized treatment strategies. The integration of targeted therapies and immunotherapies has improved patient outcomes, offering more effective and less invasive options compared to traditional methods. Stereotactic radiosurgery and whole-brain radiation therapy remain crucial, but their roles are evolving with the advent of new systemic therapies. Multidisciplinary approaches are essential for optimizing treatment plans, considering factors such as genetic mutations, patient performance status, and the extent of metastases. Ongoing research continues to refine these strategies, aiming for improved survival and quality of life.

Pharmaceutical Temperature Monitoring for Reduced Waste and Improved Compliance

Consistent Cash-Pay Options Could Transform Access to Obesity Medications

, Derrick Gastineau, head of marketing with Currax Pharmaceuticals, emphasizes the importance of pricing consistency in improving access, affordability, and long-term adherence to obesity treatments, particularly with FDA-approved oral weight loss drugs. He explained that one of the primary frustrations patients face is the unpredictability of out-of-pocket costs. This uncertainty can deter patients from initiating treatment altogether, as they may lack confidence in their ability to sustain the therapy financially over the long term.

Gastineau noted that consistency in pricing addresses this barrier by offering patients a predictable and manageable financial pathway to care. Programs designed to provide reliable cash-pay options, such as those facilitated through mail-order pharmacies, help patients integrate treatment costs into their budgets with greater confidence. This assurance is particularly important in the case of chronic conditions like obesity, where ongoing treatment is essential to achieving meaningful health outcomes.

By stabilizing the cost of therapy, such programs not only improve access but also support adherence. Patients are more likely to stay committed to their medication regimen when they know that affordability will not suddenly become an obstacle. This has significant implications for long-term health benefits, as consistent therapy can lead to better outcomes and reduced overall healthcare costs.

Gastineau highlighted that obesity, like many chronic diseases, requires a long-term treatment approach. Ensuring patients have uninterrupted access to affordable medication is therefore a critical factor in driving sustainable health improvements. In this context, consistent cash-pay programs are not merely financial tools but essential components of chronic disease management.

Ultimately, Gastineau framed the issue as one of equity and sustainability: when patients can rely on steady, affordable access to medications, they are more empowered to take charge of their health and achieve lasting results in managing obesity.

He also described what makes treatment options an attractive alternative from both a clinical and patient experience standpoint; how marketers can effectively communicate the safety and regulatory advantages of approved therapies over compounded or off-label treatments in the weight management space; and what needs to be done to combat bad actors in the sector?

How could a consistent cash-pay option for an FDA-approved oral weight loss drug improve access, affordability, and long-term adherence in obesity care?

 Consistency is the key word in that question. We've heard resoundingly from patients that uncertainty around out-of-pocket prices for medications—particularly when we're talking about obesity medications—is one of the biggest frustrations, and sometimes can even be a barrier from a patient even starting a medication if they aren't confident that they're going to be able to afford it and stay on therapy long term. 

By providing programs like this, as well as our Cure Access program that we offer via our mail- order pharmacies that we work with, that provides patients with the reassurance that they're going to have access to the medication at a consistent, affordable price that fits into their life and their individual financial situation, and that's critical when it comes to chronic diseases like obesity, where continuing treatment is critical for the long-term health and outcomes for the patient.

In the first part of his Pharma Commerce video interview, Derrick Gastineau, head of marketing with Currax Pharmaceuticals, explains how predictable, affordable pricing models for FDA-approved oral weight loss drugs can reduce barriers to care, improve long-term adherence, and support better outcomes for patients managing chronic obesity.

Transforming Hospital Pharmacy Inventory Management

Drug shortages continue to create significant financial and operational strain on hospitals, impacting both patient care and workforce efficiency. In a video interview with 

, Boyede Sobitan, global healthcare strategy lead, and Annika Matas, senior director of product management and business operations, supplies and sensors—both with Zebra Technologies—they describe how hospitals are increasingly forced to adapt to these challenges, often in unsustainable ways.

From a patient care perspective, the absence or delay of critical medications forces hospitals into difficult positions. Some have had to borrow drugs from neighboring institutions just to meet immediate needs. This creates not only logistical hurdles but also ethical concerns about equitable access to treatment.

Operational inefficiencies compound the problem. Sobitan noted that hospital staff sometimes misplace or unintentionally withhold highly sought-after drugs, leading to further shortages within the facility. Additionally, issues such as hospital diversions can exacerbate availability challenges, reducing reliability in already stressed systems. These situations underscore the importance of better inventory management and stronger oversight practices.

The impact extends beyond patient-facing concerns. Matas highlighted that nursing staff, whose primary role is to deliver direct patient care, often become entangled in logistical work. Nurses are spending increasing amounts of time tracking down medications, coordinating with pharmacy teams, or delaying procedures until necessary drugs arrive. This redirection of focus not only reduces staff efficiency but also heightens burnout risks in an already overstretched workforce.

Indirect costs quickly add up. Delayed treatments, longer hospital stays, and disruptions in surgical schedules strain financial resources and diminish overall hospital productivity. Ultimately, drug shortages create a ripple effect: patients experience delays in care, frontline staff face increased stress and inefficiencies, and hospital systems bear additional financial burdens.

Addressing these issues requires more robust supply chain solutions, improved communication between pharmacy and clinical teams, and greater systemic efforts to mitigate shortages before they impact patient safety and operational stability.

They also dive into the ways RFID and RTLS technologies can provide real-time visibility into medication inventory for hospital pharmacy teams; factors should hospitals consider when evaluating or implementing these systems to manage their medication inventory; the role these technologies could play in strengthening hospital supply chain resilience against future disruptions; and much more.

In what ways can RFID technology provide real-time visibility into medication inventory for hospital pharmacy teams, while reducing medication loss and associated labor costs during shortages?

 We've seen an emergence and growth in something called RFID cabinets. Those are cabinets that are able to keep track of RFID-tagged supplies inside the cabinets, so now you know what is in your inventory and where it is. Of course, at a supply room level, you're just able to take inventory significantly faster than what you would with normal either pen and paper methods or barcode scans, which are individual item level types of activities, so the cabinets can fully automate that visibility.

Even using a handheld RFID scanner in a supply room, you can very quickly take stock of what you have available and what you do not have available. The example that Boyede shared earlier where hospital staff may request medications for a patient, and then they may request different types of supplies and different types of medications, and only part of it ends up getting used, you can also more easily check things out and check them back in using RFID with simple handheld readers—even at the point of care—that say, this is what I ended up using. Then, the rest of this is due to go back in stock.

There’s a significant time savings when you think about RFID compared to a traditional barcode, the speed at which you can track and identify things, versus scanning boxes, scanning files, one at a time or even worse, if you have to write them up in a database with keystrokes.

In the second part of her Pharma Commerce video interview, Annika Matas, Zebra Technologies’ senior director of product management and business operations, supplies & sensors, shares that from automated RFID cabinets to handheld scanners, hospitals are streamlining inventory tracking, cutting labor costs, and reducing medication loss, especially critical during drug shortages.

Kevin King

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