Masses of data—the new oil—are increasingly accumulating in the healthcare sector. But how can this patient data be used effectively? And what opportunities does this flood of data present for the healthcare sector? These were precisely the questions that were addressed yesterday at the Future X Healthcare Event at the Alte Bayerische Staatsbank.
The digital revolution isn't just coming; we're already in the midst of it. The healthcare industry is aware of this. The amount of available health data—from laboratory data, study data, treatment and diagnostic data (real-world data), digital imaging data to genetic profiles—is increasing rapidly. How can innovative approaches to data utilization and interpretation accelerate research and successfully develop novel products to advance personalized medicine for the benefit of patients?
Building bridges between different disciplines
To jointly search for answers and solutions, Roche hosted the first Future X Healthcare event yesterday. More than 300 participants from science, industry, startups, venture capital, and politics responded to the biotech company's call to discuss the digital future of healthcare. And "together" was also the key word for Dr. Ursula Redeker, Spokesperson for the Management Board of Roche Diagnostics GmbH:
"This transformation and the increased use of personalized medicine can only succeed if bridges are built between the various disciplines. For this reason, Roche has launched the Future X Healthcare event platform to bring together the most important drivers of innovation and promote the formation of new networks."
Also Ilse Aigner, patron of Future X Healthcare, emphasized the necessary collaboration between different disciplines and sees the conditions for this in the Free State:
"Bavaria is an internationally recognized, innovative, high-tech location in the field of health and medicine. To continue generating these innovations in the future, strong networks are needed that create a connection between the world of science and the healthcare industry. We want to further expand these networks, particularly in the area of digital healthcare. In this way, we will further improve patient care and develop Bavaria as a high-tech location overall."
Munich startups were also represented at the event in the Alte Bayerische Staatsbank. For example, Reactive Robotics its solution for early mobilization of intensive care patients at the Innovation Fair.
Regulation and standard care
However, the path of innovative business ideas on the German healthcare market is not always easy, emphasized the founder and CTO of Kaia Health, Manuel Thurner, in conversation with members of the press. It is not only the hurdle of high official regulation that can make life difficult for healthcare startups, but also the low willingness to pay of a "customer base" that is not used to paying for healthcare services themselves due to standard care. The path to success in Germany therefore leads through standard care - which is usually associated with a high level of evidence. Startups can only manage this if they have financially strong partners. Jared Sebhatu, Program Director at German Accelerator Life Sciences, even sees this as a competitive disadvantage for German companies in the global healthcare market. So it is a logical step that Kaia Health now wants to gain a stronger foothold in the American market and has already opened an office in Boston, as Manuel Thurner reported.
