Roundtable Digital

AI in Pharma: Transforming the Future of Sales Excellence and Operations

Unlocking The Potential of Artificial Intelligence in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

October 8, 2024, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (CET)

At the Digital Roundtable on October 8, 2024, the focus was entirely on the transformational potential of artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical sector. Under the moderation of Atreus Director Christian Wagner, experts elucidated how AI can revolutionise sales, marketing, and operations within pharmaceutical companies.

Did you miss the event?

Watch the re-play with the most important findings:

Event

Digital via Livestream

October 8, 2024, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (CET)

Welcome and introduction of speakers
What is AI? Jack Lampka will provide an overview of artificial intelligence, explaining key concepts like artificial general intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI.
AI in Sales and Marketing: Jack Lampka will explore the use of AI in customer profiling, natural language processing, HCP insights, resource optimization, and predictive analytics, highlighting its potential to optimize sales and marketing strategies.
Challenges with AI in Pharma Operations: Dr. Maximilian Pinker will address the regulatory challenges and operational hurdles faced when implementing AI in pharma, offering practical solutions to overcome these barriers.
Q&A Session: Engage with our experts in an interactive Q&A session to clarify doubts and gain deeper insights into AI applications in the pharmaceutical industry.

Topic

Join us for an insightful roundtable discussion, “AI for Pharma,” where two distinguished experts will delve into the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the pharmaceutical industry. This event is designed to raise awareness about AI and its applications in pharma, providing attendees with valuable knowledge and actionable insights.

Our Experts:

Jack Lampka, AI Keynote Speaker & Advisor
Dr. Maximilian Pinker, Independent Consultant

Pharma

Leading companies through difficult times requires storm-tested professionals with power and intuition.

We support you with challenges in the pharmaceutical industry:

Pharmaceutical Industry

The key insights from the discussion are summarised in eight theses:

1. Success with AI begins by addressing business needs.

Jack Lampka, a keynote speaker on AI with 27 years of experience in technology and AI, emphasised the importance of aligning AI initiatives with corporate objectives. “Always start with the business needs,” he advised. He noted that 70% of AI projects fail – often because they are technology-driven rather than oriented towards challenges within the business model. In the pharmaceutical context, decision-makers should identify specific areas where AI can add value, such as optimising sales or research & development processes, and establish clear KPIs accordingly.

2. Corporate culture is pivotal for AI implementation.

“All AI solutions require employees to change their ways of working, processes, and tools,” said Lampka. Engaging with the corporate culture is essential because, without a willingness to change, implementing AI becomes challenging. He suggested enhancing data readiness at all levels of the organisation: “Everyone in an organisation should adopt a data mindset.” The human aspect of AI adoption should not be overlooked. Early involvement of the team can significantly increase acceptance of AI. Addressing the employees’ question, “What’s in it for me?” is crucial, said Lampka.

3. AI is not a homogeneous entity.

Regarding the various currently existing forms of AI, Lampka distinguished between Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Generative AI: “Machine Learning and Deep Learning have been around for years—the new player is Gen AI.” While Machine Learning and Deep Learning have long been utilised for predictive analytics in sales and marketing, Generative AI can create content such as text, images, audio, and video. Understanding these differences enables pharmaceutical companies to identify the appropriate type of AI for their specific business requirements.

4. AI presents significant opportunities for sales and marketing in pharma.

Lampka highlighted several key areas where AI can elevate sales and marketing in pharmaceutical companies to the next level, delivering a high return on investment: “AI can help define customer profiles, estimate patient numbers, or provide recommendations to sales staff,” he said. Through Generative AI, it is possible to tailor content to specific target groups and even create avatar videos for training in multiple languages. This level of personalisation enables much more targeted sales and marketing activities, leading to measurable business successes.

5. AI in pharma: A matter of compliance.

Compliance expert Dr Marlon Rück outlined the unique requirements for AI use in the highly regulated pharmaceutical environment. “The use of AI leads to a black box. You have to test and validate the AI, which is more complex in the pharmaceutical industry than in other sectors,” said Rück. Lampka also considers ensuring compliance with new AI-generated content to be similarly complicated: “Even a single content change in a document means that the entire approval process must start anew.” Therefore, close collaboration with regulatory authorities is imperative. In many cases, existing compliance processes may need to be modified to utilise AI in business effectively.

6. AI accelerates and reduces costs in drug development.

As Rück explained, AI will dramatically transform research & development by reducing the time and cost involved in bringing a drug to market. “AI can, for instance, help predict the properties of proteins or drugs, thereby shortening the time to market,” he said. Since developing an average drug takes 12 years and costs $28 billion, AI offers a significant lever for reducing costs and enhancing a company’s competitive position.

7. Operational efficiency: AI as a lever in production.

There is substantial potential in production through AI—particularly via automation. The corresponding ecosystem, comprising IT/OT systems, processes, personnel, regulatory compliance, documentation, and equipment, can benefit in numerous ways from AI. “AI can optimise production planning, process optimisation, procurement, and even maintenance scheduling,” explained Rück. By automating routine tasks and improving resource allocation, companies can increase productivity and reduce operational costs—while ensuring consistent quality and compliance in manufacturing processes.

8. AI currently still has clear limitations—especially in the pharmaceutical industry.

Interim manager and AI consultant Dr Maximilian Pinker cautioned against overestimating AI’s capabilities: “Current AI is still limited; each AI is currently highly specialised for a specific purpose.” Above all, AI should not replace existing process steps that require human judgement: “At present, it cannot be ensured that the result is truly valid,” he warned, underscoring the necessity of human oversight in AI-driven processes. Decisions must remain with humans—particularly in contexts where compliance and accuracy are of paramount importance.

Our keynote speakers

Jack Lampka simplifies and demystifies complex artificial intelligence (AI) topics for executives and data leaders to gain business value from AI, with pragmatism built on 27 years of data & AI expertise. Based on his successes and failures, he is delivering keynotes and advising companies on the human factor of AI adoption.

Jack has built and led data teams, developed data strategies, and accelerated AI adoption. He has enabled companies to turn data into business impact, supported executives with data-driven decisions, and cultivated data mindset through data literacy programs. All that has started after his MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from RWTH Aachen, Germany and continued in several doer and then ten years of leader roles at large high-tech companies (Tektronix & HP in the USA), pharma (MSD in Germany), and a startup in between.

Dr. Maximilian Pinker is an experienced leader in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, renowned for leading complex change projects and driving organizational excellence. With a pragmatic approach developed through years of leadership roles, Dr. Pinker provides strategic and technical consulting that enhances efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness in operations, quality management, and project management.

Dr. Pinker focuses on organizational and process optimization, culture change, digital transformation, multi-site harmonizations, and inspection readiness and remediation programs.

Throughout his career, he has led multinational and global projects involving up to 500 heads and managed projects valued up to €50 million annually. He has led strategic initiatives that yielded million-euro savings. He has provided multi-site quality leadership, including at Europe’s largest COVID-19 PCR testing organization. He has directed various digital transformation projects, such as implementing eQMS, LIMS, and DMS systems, and successfully introduced Lean Six Sigma in QC departments across 15 pharmaceutical manufacturing sites. Dr. Pinker has a proven track record of securing successful inspections by the US-FDA and other authorities.