Pandemic Opens Up Technology’s Future in Life Sciences

Companies in the life sciences sector, traditionally slow to change, have accelerated their adoption of new technologies in response to challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and other developments, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Life Sciences Digital Services global report finds that life sciences enterprises have made significant progress over the past three years in adopting digital technology at scale. The pandemic upended many common practices, including in-person patient visits and just-in-time supply deliveries, forcing companies to introduce new, digital processes. The entry of small, agile startups has also accelerated the pace of technology adoption.

“Technology is becoming part of the DNA of life sciences companies,” said Jennifer Stein, ISG partner and Life Sciences industry lead. “Solution providers are helping to catalyze change by innovating and collaborating with clients more than ever.”

In the past year, many enterprises have gone from pilot projects to large-scale implementations of new technologies. Their innovative approaches incorporate advances in automation, analytics, end-to-end integration, cloud transformation, platform-agnostic software and other capabilities, ISG says.

The biggest impact of digital transformation has been in clinical development, where new technologies have allowed companies to accelerate enrollment, collect and analyze more data and better engage with health care professionals, the report says. Supply chain management and regulatory reporting have also improved.

The pandemic also kicked off major changes in patient engagement, ISG says. Technologies that enabled decentralized clinical trials, allowing patients to participate without going to research facilities in person, have also shortened trials and enhanced safety and data management. Life sciences companies are becoming increasingly centered on patients, treating them more often as the ultimate customers of the industry’s products, partly in response to rising patient activism, ISG says.

Firms have also streamlined manufacturing and supply chain processes in response to the pandemic by introducing automation and integrating processes, machines, inventories and customer demand across the product lifecycle, the report says. Pharmacovigilance (PV), which ensures product safety and compliance, is improving through the use of machine learning and natural-language processing.

“COVID continued to accelerate technology adoption in 2022, but the major trends affecting the industry are irreversible,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Solution providers are helping clients develop the change management capabilities they need.”

For more insights into the industry’s current challenges and advice on how life sciences companies can remain competitive, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ global Life Sciences Digital Services report evaluates the capabilities of 30 providers across five quadrants: Clinical Development Digital Transformation Services, Patient Engagement Digital Transformation Services, Manufacturing Supply Chain Digital Transformation Services, PV and Regulatory Affairs, and Med Tech Digital Transformation Services.

The report names Capgemini, Cognizant, TCS and Wipro as Leaders in all five quadrants. It names Accenture and HCLTech as Leaders in four quadrants each and Atos and PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific as Leaders in three quadrants each. Genpact, HARMAN DTS, Hexaware, IQVIA, LTIMindtree, LTTS and Tech Mahindra are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Birlasoft, Genpact, Hexaware, LTIMindtree and Persistent Systems are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

Customized versions of the report are available from Hexaware, LTTS and the PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ global Life Sciences Digital Services report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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