The Talent and Leadership in Our Midst

April 22, 2024

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From all walks of life, these stakeholders are transforming specialty medicine in Canada

Specialty medicine in Canada is nothing if not complex. Drug development, approval, listing, distribution… complexity exists at every level and, with the torrent of specialty medications in the pipeline, is poised to increase still further. At the same time, the space abounds with promise and opportunity – and above all, hope for patients whose life and well-being depends on treatments for their challenging diseases.

Several factors are coming together to ensure patients can access these life-changing therapies. Precision medicine, for one. In its February 2024 strategic bulletin, INESSS flagged precision medicine as an area of innovation to prioritize in the coming years, along with virtual healthcare and digitization. Then there’s real-world evidence (RWE), listed in ISPOR’s 2024-2025 Top 10 HEOR Trends Report as the top trend to watch for. RWE fills evidence gaps for highly promising medications, enabling these treatments to reach patients earlier, when they can have the greatest impact. Meanwhile, health technology assessors (HTAs), the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA), payers, and specialty drug developers are working on innovative market access pathways and agreements to ensure timely listing of these medications.

Top 5 trends in health economics and outcomes research: ISPOR 2024-25

Adapted from ISPOR 2024-2025 Top 10 HEOR Trends Report.

 

Then there’s artificial intelligence (AI) – the bronze medalist on ISPOR’s current watch list. Not only is AI opening up new vistas in diagnosis and treatment, but the efficiencies enabled by AI free up human resources that can be allocated to patient care. On the ethics side, society’s increasing awareness of – and intolerance for –healthcare disparities is exerting a much-needed pull on healthcare decisions, leading to more equitable access to life-changing drugs.

To stay viable and vibrant in this ever-evolving world, the specialty pharmaceutical space requires forward-thinking leaders. What qualities do these leaders need to have? What gaps do they need to fill? What principles should guide them? 20Sense asked some seasoned Canadian leaders to weigh in on these questions.

For Martine Elias, Executive Director of Myeloma Canada, next-gen specialty healthcare leaders need to adopt a change management mindset from the get-go. “The complexity of health care delivery will continue to grow and put pressure on leaders to anticipate change and think outside the box,” she says. At the same time, “they will need to listen to all stakeholders, especially the recipients of care.” In brief: expect the unexpected and put patients first.

Julia Brown, Vice President, Oncology Sales and Marketing at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, notes that the concept of access has expanded beyond reimbursement. “The whole patient journey must be considered at every step,” she says. As such, “the leaders of tomorrow will need to understand how the patient journey intersects with system-level capacities so they can effectively address the gaps.” Also critical: “learning agility, collaboration, and ability to think more broadly about how the healthcare system and patient experience are evolving.”

2023-24 ISPOR President Brian O’Rourke, for his part, suggests that specialty healthcare draw inspiration from other industries. “In banking and retail, for example, data scientists are helping to steer the ship,” he says. “They have chief AI information officers with a bird’s-eye view. That’s the type of specialist we need to develop in healthcare.” According to O’Rourke, tomorrow’s leaders should also embrace the uncertainty inherent in the specialty drug world – what he calls the grey zone. “Great leaders, for me, are those with the courage to make decisions in that grey area, when they don’t have all the variables.”

In this report we’re featuring stakeholders who, through their passion and pragmatism, are changing the face of specialty healthcare in Canada. They come from data science, patient support services, industry, and healthcare plans. Some are doctors and patients. Fully aware of the mountain of work ahead, they’re busy climbing it. We invite you to draw inspiration from their achievements and dreams.


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The 2024 Change Makers in Canadian Specialty Healthcare

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AI and the Specialty Healthcare Opportunity