Blockchain will test and push the boundaries of conventional approaches to problem solving” – Unknown
Blockchain technology has made significant progress since its debut as a technology that made cryptocurrencies a success. The technology continues to evolve with more and more features being added; one of my friends working with the technology puts the frequency of major updates to at least one per week!
Once thought to be a disruption in the field of currencies, industry pundits pretty soon followed up with a prediction that blockchain will redefine the way banking and financial services are conceptualized and delivered. However, it has not taken too long for the other businesses too to realize that blockchain can actually be very effective wherever there is a need for transparency, security, efficiency, cost effectiveness and disintermediation. This has led to a breed of early adopters in almost every industry.
Although I had heard of blockchain a few times earlier, it particularly piqued my interest a few months back when I watched a TED talk by Don Tapscott. Ever since, I started thinking about blockchain’ s potential applications in Healthcare. My initial intuition was that pharma companies will be most willing to put this concept to test. When I started looking around, I was not disappointed; there were a set of startups that were trying to address some potential commercial use cases for pharma in particular. Over the last few months, my discussions with pharma companies have confirmed that there are some who are already exploring blockchain to address their pain points.
A framework to identify blockchain use cases for Pharma
Over the last couple of months, I spent time learning more about blockchain, thinking about its potential applications in pharma, and brain storming specific use cases which can have disruptive impact on the industry and such.
As I went about this exercise, I came up with a framework that helped me to explore the potential use cases for blockchain in pharma (Fig.1). Idea was to create a universe of use cases at first. And then, to narrow down the list to most compelling, high RoI and high impact ones. I have listed some sample use cases in this illustration framework below. Given that we are still at the dawn of blockchain’s adoption in pharma and that blockchain as a technology is fast evolving with additional features and possibilities, I see this as a living document with huge potential to expand itself in its scope and purpose.
Fig.1. A framework for blockchain use cases in pharma (with sample potential use cases)
As you can see in this framework, I have tried to bucket the possibilities along the most prevalent usage of blockchain –
Financial transactions managementContract, compliance and other legal managementIdentity managementProperty (physical and intellectual) and ownership management
I then created a matrix of use cases mapping them to the broad value chain in pharma. There can be some overlap in the use cases – e.g., Drug Supply Chain Safety Act covers elements of drug safety, drug channels and serialization as well.
Most of these use cases are traditionally addressed in some shape and form. So, what is so different when they are attempted through blockchain?
Value Drivers for blockchain adoption in Pharma
Among many of the inherent benefits of blockchain, user empowerment, integrity and trust, quality data and seamless exchange, immutability and transparency are most attractive to pharma. Some of the identified value drivers for pharma’s adoption of blockchain can be summarized as below –
• Better and faster regulatory compliance and approvals
• Increased transparency and authenticity of the trials
• Increased patient engagement and experience – better adherence, privacy management etc.
• Increased safety
• Better demand visibility and supply chain optimization
• Reduced wastage – easier failure data sharing, peer to peer collaboration and credit sharing
• Better IP management – proof, protection, sharing, and monetization
• Cost efficiency and speed to market
Initial efforts around blockchain in pharma have focused mostly around supply chain and financial transactions, but there are many other transformative applications of blockchain that are largely unexplored. Let’s see one such example around clinical data sharing.
Blockchain for Clinical Data Sharing
One of the areas in drug discovery that I am most passionate about is the clinical data sharing (trial and beyond) – among and by the patients, researchers, investigators, providers, sponsors and such other actors in the value chain. Done right, no doubt, this has the potential to reduce wastage of all sorts (funds, time, efforts etc.) promoting faster discovery cycles, better channeled research dollars etc. All these eventually benefit the needy patients and the society at large.
Clinical data sharing is already picking up in various shapes and forms. It is rapidly getting acceptance as the right thing to do. Many pharma companies now have dedicated pages on their websites where one can go and request for information and data on various trials and protocols, all the way down to patient data (anonymized of course). There are now forums and collaborations like ClincialStudyDataRequest that are enabling this kind of clinical data sharing.
Quite expected, this kind of clinical data sharing is not without challenges and concerns that are preventing creation of open environments necessary for data sharing. Privacy concerns and regulations around them, intellectual property and professional exclusivity, misuse of data and trust deficit, contract/policy enforcement and even incentive management are some of the burning issues that need to be addressed holistically for the success of clinical data sharing. It is in the context of these challenges that blockchain technology becomes an attractive proposition to enable streamlined clinical data sharing platforms. Blockchain effectively addresses most of the concerns and challenges – it enables secure and private sharing of data, it enforces smart contracts on every transaction, prevents misuse and promotes trust, protects IP and captures credits where it is due.
Following scenario (Fig.2) explains at a high level how a hybrid blockchain framework (private and public) can benefit clinical data sharing promoting collaboration during discovery and pre-clinical development phase.
Fig. 2. Blockchain in drug discovery and pre-clinical development – a scenario study
I know that this scenario is not as straight forward as it seems and challenges traditional wisdom and way of doing things. There will be lot of concerns on ownership, accountability, IP, authenticity and so on. Skeptics will have a lot of reservations in trying out something like this – like with any innovation which is not necessarily in line with conventional thinking and practices. However, more and more I think about it, I am convinced that if we want to create a really open environment to share clinical data and reap the benefits of it, blockchain is a strong enabler that addresses most concerns associated with this possibility and potential.
There are many such transformative possibilities that can be enabled effectively by leveraging blockchain. Let us keep them for future discussions…
Round up
Pharma industry is in the early phase of blockchain adoption. Blockchain as a technology is fast evolving. Most early adopters in pharma (as also in other industries) are working on blockchain on pilot basis today. Early success stories are promising and are expected to propel the adoption into mainstream sooner than later. As blockchain evolves further, we will continue to explore more and more possibilities that it can enable, in pharma and beyond. As that happens, reference framework will also evolve to cover more ground.
Fig. 2. Blockchain in drug discovery and pre-clinical development – a scenario study
I know that this scenario is not as straight forward as it seems and challenges traditional wisdom and way of doing things. There will be lot of concerns on ownership, accountability, IP, authenticity and so on. Skeptics will have a lot of reservations in trying out something like this – like with any innovation which is not necessarily in line with conventional thinking and practices. However, more and more I think about it, I am convinced that if we want to create a really open environment to share clinical data and reap the benefits of it, blockchain is a strong enabler that addresses most concerns associated with this possibility and potential.
There are many such transformative possibilities that can be enabled effectively by leveraging blockchain. Let us keep them for future discussions…
Round up
Pharma industry is in the early phase of blockchain adoption. Blockchain as a technology is fast evolving. Most early adopters in pharma (as also in other industries) are working on blockchain on pilot basis today. Early success stories are promising and are expected to propel the adoption into mainstream sooner than later. As blockchain evolves further, we will continue to explore more and more possibilities that it can enable, in pharma and beyond. As that happens, reference framework will also evolve to cover more ground.