Convergent Development Is Key To Remaining Competitive In The Evolving Healthcare Landscape

For years, pharmaceutical and medical device development have occurred in silos. Now, with increasing costs associated with development and a heightened focus from regulatory bodies on patient outcomes, both industries must evolve past conventional approaches to trial conduct¹. Convergent development enables each industry to attain new manufacturing, clinical and regulatory knowledge by forming partnerships with those who have already acquired this expertise.

As a major component of convergent development, combination treatment approaches―which unite two or more different types of regulated drugs or medical devices to enhance patient outcomes―and their supporting trials, provide a chance for each industry to leverage a mutually beneficial partnership to help ensure their respective products stay on or are approved for market. Additionally, the mHealth revolution presents an opportunity to cultivate innovation and can lead to stronger real world evidence of the effectiveness of medical treatments.