EP327: Pharma Hooking Up With Start-ups, With Naomi Fried, PhD, About PharmStars™

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I saw a post the other day in Twitter. Someone wrote, “So much can be done to improve community and share lessons to improve outcomes. The trick is making money without selling patient data to Pharma.”

Here’s my question for you, and I’m legit asking: I have seen many use cases that benefit patients and that are incredibly worthwhile. But no one is willing to pay for them. That’s the first point this Tweet I just read infers.

And I’ve seen it time and time again: gaps in care no one is willing to fill. If you’re speaking about very specific patient populations in very specific therapeutic categories, like some rare diseases, you’re not going to find basically anyone besides Pharma who has the bandwidth, the money, the expertise, and the reach to fill that gap.

If you contemplate this further, and I have, Pharma might be the only entity who, if they do it, the price of health care doesn’t immediately go up. Hear me out here because I’m wading into controversial waters, so let me make my point before you jump me in a dark alley.

If Pharma does something and it comes out of their existing marketing budget or their R&D budget or some other existing budget, them spending money on filling a patient gap versus them spending money on some TV ad is not going to impact the price of the drug either way. If the price of the drug is already too high, the price of the drug is still too high. That’s going to be true regardless. Why not let Pharma pay the freight for making sure their own patient populations get the best care possible?

This show is posted on LinkedIn and Twitter. Let me know what your thoughts are. I’m very interested.

In this health care podcast, I am really pleased to be speaking with Naomi Fried, PhD. Dr. Fried has had and continues to have a storied career. Each of her roles has always circled around innovation. She’s been the chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s, where she built their first digital health accelerator. She was recruited by Biogen after that to be their VP of innovation and external partnerships. She founded a consulting practice focused on innovation, and her latest endeavor, which she talks about later on in this show, is PharmStars, which is, in my own words, a sort of 10-week crash course/accelerator for digital health start-ups looking to work with Pharma—and for Pharma looking to work with digital health start-ups.

You can learn more about PharmStars at pharmstars.com.

Naomi Fried, PhD, is the founder and CEO of PharmStars, the first and only pharma-focused accelerator for digital health start-ups, dedicated to driving digital health adoption to improve patient outcomes. PharmStars understands and addresses the challenges that Pharma and start-ups face when seeking to collaborate. Its PharmaU™ program supports its digital health start-ups and pharma members seeking to “bridge the gap,” leading to greater success and faster adoption of “beyond the molecule” solutions for patients. PharmStars provides education and mentoring to digital health start-ups seeking engagement with pharma and biotech firms. Its pharma members are committed to working with its graduating start-ups. Applications for participation in the first cohort are due July 21, 2021.

Dr. Fried is also the co-founder and managing partner of Ambit Health Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on digital health investments. Previously, she was the CEO of the consulting firm Health Innovation Strategies, VP of innovation and external partnerships at Biogen, the first chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, and the first VP of innovation and advanced technology at Kaiser Permanente. She advises and serves on the boards of digital health start-ups.

03:42 What does the pharma–start-up gap look like? 05:49 Why is it hard to navigate Big Pharma when trying to partner with start-ups? 09:53 “A lot of what contributes to that pharma–start-up gap is a lack of understanding.” 10:05 What’s the best way to navigate the pharma–start-up partnership? 10:55 “There’s not a clear path as to who should be engaged from the pharma side, because the value proposition wasn’t well articulated.” 12:27 “Even if … the product is better, if it’s such an uphill battle to get them through the hoops and to work with them, they may not be the partner of choice.” 13:45 Why are start-ups surprised at who all is involved with the decision-making process on the pharma side? 15:51 Where might start-ups run into regulatory oversight compliance issues? 20:41 “Setting expectations and talking early on … really, just understanding on both sides … they have to meet each other and work around these requirements.” 22:02 “Start-ups really are under financial pressure.” 26:33 “Pharma has a lot to offer digital health start-ups.” 27:40 Is Pharma any good at selling something to a provider? 29:22 What do start-ups need to keep in mind when pitching to Pharma? 30:35 “Understanding Pharma’s needs, how they work, what they will pay for is so important for start-ups.”

You can learn more about PharmStars at pharmstars.com.

@NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

What does the pharma–start-up gap look like? @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

Why is it hard to navigate Big Pharma when trying to partner with start-ups? @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

“A lot of what contributes to that pharma–start-up gap is a lack of understanding.” @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

What’s the best way to navigate the pharma–start-up partnership? @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

“Even if … the product is better, if it’s such an uphill battle to get them through the hoops and to work with them, they may not be the partner of choice.” @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

“Start-ups really are under financial pressure.” @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

“Pharma has a lot to offer digital health start-ups.” @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

What do start-ups need to keep in mind when pitching to Pharma? @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma

“Understanding Pharma’s needs, how they work, what they will pay for is so important for start-ups.” @NaomiFried of @AmbitHealth discusses @PharmStars on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #pharma