The main goal of the project is to build a strategy for a chosen pharmaceutical company on how to implement a digital platform/app to enhance its existing product portfolio. The pharmaceutical industry has a revenue model, which is highly dependent on the reimbursement agreements with the governments, which only now are, starting to implement reimbursements on digital health solutions. Some countries are exploring this such as Germany (made possible by the German Digital Healthcare Act, DVG) or the UK (through the Innovation and Technology Payment). Furthermore, with the rise of digitalization and a focus on operating businesses ethically, digital health solutions can enable pharmaceutical companies to not only produce and sell a certain product but also, for example, monitor the intake of the medication, following the patient throughout their journey, etc.Because of, among others, the lacking reimbursement agreements and funding on digital health, the pharmaceutical industry is struggling in creating a successful business model in this area. Focusing on a digital strategy is, however, crucial for the industry’s future perspective as they expect that 5-10 years from now, 32% of the profit to come from this area. They all agree on the relevance, however, do not know how to go about it. One of the problems the companies face is finding the right price of the digital product, they might lack needed capabilities and there can be a low data availability in the area, as it is still a rather unexplored market.I wish to engage in a collaboration with a company to create a tailored strategy for their specific product portfolio and organization.

Innovation, new insights, and a possibility to explore the topic from a practical but academic perspective 

I have always had an interest in the healthcare industry, so I knew from the very beginning that I was going to write about something in this industry. I went to a talk last semester with the consultancy company Simon&Kucher who talked about digital health, which sparked my interest. 

I have a good fundamental understanding of the healthcare industry as I am currently working in it and have written several projects about it (including my bachelor thesis). Furthermore, during my masters, I have had several courses on how to develop and manage innovation, which I believe is the core of my thesis. From a more personal perspective, I am a  very motivated student and I seek to write a master with frameworks, which can be used and implemented by the company - make a difference.