J&J: Healthcare collaboration to shape future OTC innovation
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Johnson & Johnson is focused on more than just bringing new, innovative products to market, Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO J&J shared with analysts Tuesday. With the evolution of the healthcare marketplace, it's becoming just as important to consider improvements in supply chain efficiency and supporting outcomes-based health models.
"Our consumer expertise, insight and access are becoming increasingly valuable to payers and providers, as demographic and technology trends in healthcare are moving the system toward more consumer-driven decision-making and in some cases, self-care alternatives," Gorsky said. "We see this as a key differentiator for our company. And we are investing in technologies that help us exploit this expertise across our broad base," he said.
"Overall we feel that we're still in the very early innings of what I'd call the market evolution that we clearly expect to see over the next 3 years, 5 years and even 10 years," he said. Driving that evolution is the aging of the baby boomer in the U.S. and a burgeoning middle class outside of the U.S., both in evolving healthcare environments defined by greater participation from the patient than ever before. "Clearly the consumer, the patient is weighing in much heavier in these decisions, as they take on higher co-pays, as they can get more information that's available online," Gorsky said. "And frankly they just have higher expectations about their ability to participate in that healthcare decision-making process."
Those factors are contributing to greater collaboration between healthcare product manufacturers and healthcare providers. "What we see is an evolution more towards a business-to-business relationship, where, yes, customers want to see innovation, but they also want to see how are you going to interact?" Gorsky said. "How can you assist in working with [the] supply chain to make it more efficient? How can we work together as part of a broader partnership that ultimately is focusing not just on a product sell, but actually on an outcome, on an episode of care for the patient," he said. "And it creates a much broader partnership. We are seeing those organizations becoming more and more interested. And that's why we're adapting to make sure that we're part of that."
Examples of that innovation include J&J's work with Wakefern, which focuses on delivering value to the diabetes patient by creating a bridge between what's on the shelf and the pharmacist. “As we start to look at all these [health] trends and what they’re doing, and how it’s pushing people into new spaces, that’s where we all have a new opportunity to start to deliver differently,” commented Chris Jobes, director of health and wellness at J&J, during last year's GMDC Health Beauty Wellness 2015 conference. “Enter the era that’s being called the ‘consumerism of health care.’ So many changes are happening, we’re thinking about it differently.”
"We’re working with our retail partners to pilot a number of initiatives focused on both acute and chronic care," added Alissa Hsu Lynch, VP sales strategy, operations and global capabilities at Johnson & Johnson Consumer, during an exclusive interview with Drug Store News. "With our broad portfolio as well as reach and relationships with healthcare providers and systems, we have the potential to deliver solutions that will address the 'Triple Aim' — better outcomes at a lower cost with higher patient satisfaction. Ultimately, our goal is to help consumers live longer, healthier and happier lives."