'DTx Companies can make HCPs feel like Superheros!'
To give you the inside track in digital health, we speak with some of the most interesting voices in the sector to get a sense of what they see in the market.
This week, we spoke with Anish Shindore, founder and managing partner of GSD Health and a member of our DTx community advisory board.
As someone who has mentored a number of startups, what qualities do you think are critical for a DTx company to succeed? And what are the main reasons for failure for DTx companies?
From my perspective, for any DTx company to be successful there needs to be a good balance between six key pillars: clinical data, technology, business model, market access strategy, the right organizational structure and understanding of the regulatory frameworks. If you miss one of these six pillars, you will most likely face challenges at some point in time as your business grows or if you seek investment.
For early stage DTx companies, showing that there is a market opportunity and validating product-market fit is a must.
Patient focused approaches don't always result in revenue, what innovative avenues can companies take to prove the value/investment case for DTx products?
Having a patient focused approach is crucial for any DTx company. From a commercialization point of view, you have different ways to get your solution in the patient’s hands.
If you are looking for a fast path to commercialization and lower validation requirements, you can go via the wellness route i.e. in most cases direct to consumer (D2C). This is a quick and good approach as if your solution is good i.e. Product-Market fit, patients won’t mind paying out of pocket.
Alternatively, if there are any claims associated with your solution, you most likely need to ensure that the solution is first Safe and then the claims associated should be based on evidence showing the positive impact. With this you could go via Payor/ prescription route within markets.
From your experience within pharma, what are the main points that DTx entrepreneurs need to understand when looking to partner? What do they often underestimate?
There are three main points that DTx entrepreneurs need to understand when working with pharma:
Lead times are always longer than DTx companies expect
DTx companies should not assume that their solution is ready for the pharma company. They will need to adapt their product to each pharma company.
There is a misconception that whenever they close a deal with pharma, it is going to be a big amount of money. Most companies will start with smaller deals to validate the value, before they can close larger deals.
Many DTx companies choose the pharma partnership as their business model. Is it a good model for DTx companies? Why/why not?
It is an option for DTx companies, but it is not ‘THE’ only model to be successful.
There are many other models that are a better fit for DTx companies. When you can show value through a population health solution (for example in cardiovascular diseases), medtech seems to be a better opportunity compared to pharma.
Likewise, if the DTx solution is based on D2C strategies or a wellness model, pharma will not be the best fit.
When dealing with healthcare professionals (HCPs) , how can DTx companies show value to an audience which traditionally uses different types of products (i.e. drugs)?
Results/ Outcomes. Wouldn’t HCPs want to improve patients' lives? Both DTx and pharmacotherapy can help doctors with better patient treatment and treatment decision making.
The ability to quantify better patient outcomes through data generated via DTx solutions is what HCPs will appreciate the most. Additionally, when the HCPs see that the patient is stable on a therapy both molecular/ digital most likely they will be on board. The challenge here is attitudinal changes that we must drive by educating HCPs and setting technology as part of therapy as a new norm.
Practice of medicine is difficult and very seldom rewarding, if you're able to show results and drive outcomes, DTx companies will make HCPs feel like Superheroes.
If you want to take part in this Q+A or would like to recommend someone, please email [email protected]