60 CHEMICALS KNOWLEDGE HUB Issue 2 / October 2025 Under the theme, “Expedition Pharma: Innovation from a Patient-First Perspective,” the DCAT Summit at Lugano, held June 4–5, 2025, in Lugano, Switzerland, underscored a message that cannot be ignored: Achieving true patient-centricity requires a holistic and proactive approach, spanning clinical research, product design, and supply chain integrity. Expert speakers highlighted the ethical and economic imperative of putting patients at the center while examining how the industry can more fully realize this all-important goal. Addressing the cost of ignoring women’s health Kearney Partner Paula Bellostas Muguerza presented a compelling case for closing the gender health gap. The statistics she cited were striking: Women spend 25% more of their lives in ill health than men, yet women’s health receives just 4% of global digital health venture capital investment. The missed opportunity is immense: Closing the gap could add $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040. Through Kearney’s [w] Health platform, Bellostas Muguerza is behind the firm’s efforts to build a coalition to drive policy and innovation that redefines how healthcare meets the needs of women. Her message was clear: Investing in women’s health is both a moral imperative and an economic necessity. Supply chain integrity as patient-centric care Turning from clinical to operational realities, Jim Fries, CEO of Rx-360, an industry consortium of pharma manufacturers and suppliers focused on supply chain integrity, reminded attendees that patient-centricity is only as strong as the supply chains that deliver safe medicines. More than 15 years after the heparin crisis, he says that the industry continues to evolve and put resources behind the departments safeguarding supply chain integrity. Fries called on companies to “trust their own data” by using tools such as supplier questionnaires to uncover real-time insights while cautioning against blind reliance on artificial intelligence (AI). “AI is a piece of the puzzle, but make sure it’s combined with your organization’s needs,” he said. “Your needs may be different from others’.” His call reinforced that patient safety begins long before a product reaches the bedside—it depends on the strength and transparency of the supply chain. Patient-centricity must start early Atanas Todorov, Chief Medical Officer of Arcondis, a global healthcare and life sciences consultancy, emphasized the need to integrate patient considerations from the very start of drug and device development. Too often, companies wait until trial design or production is complete to ask DCAT SUMMIT SPECIAL Driving value through patient-centricity in drug development and the supply chain
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