SINGAPORE – From faster approval processes and shifts in manufacturing processes to changing stakeholder roles and the rise of preventive med tech, discussions at the recent Phar-East 2018 meeting underscored the major currents of change flowing through Asia's biotech and med-tech industries.

Alfred Scheidegger, founder and partner of venture capital firm Nextech Invest, used the analogy of a lion and gazelle. "The lion and gazelle both have to run fast as soon as the sun rises, to eat and avoid being eaten. Whether you are one or the other, a big pharma corporation or a researcher, you have to move fast in these fields," Scheidegger said, referring to the many disruptions the biotech and med-tech industries have seen of late.

Scheidegger pointed to how lung cancer was seen as a single disease in the 1970s compared to the more than 50 profiles and different treatment options available today as an example of how the industry has evolved.

"The high innovation pace changes the industry faster than expected. Sadly, lots of biotech companies with working candidates will become obsolete due to novel therapeutic approaches emerging. That is the reality of things," he said.

Scheidegger said he believes that the need to keep up with a faster pace of evolution isn't the only thing that has changed in the health care industry.

"There is the pressure to reduce costs. In addition, there is a strong demand for effective drugs and a pressure to approve them fast," he said.

Scheidegger added that it's great news that the U.S. FDA and other regulatory bodies around the world are responding faster than ever to new drugs, noting in particular the FDA's approval process for candidates with orphan designation.

To boost approvals in the region, experts call for multiregional trials criteria, acceptance of real-world evidence and good pharmacovigilance practice structures.

Even the way that biosimilars are made is undergoing change, with a fully continuous manufacturing process being discussed by several speakers at Phar-East as the next big thing. It is more economical, more environmentally friendly and offers a more consistent quality.

Fai Poon Hung, president of Quacell Bioscience Co. Ltd., said he believes new companies should explore that as a way to stand out from established players.

"If you have yet to build manufacturing capabilities, why not invest in something newer and better?" asked Hung.

Prevention better than a cure

On the med-tech side, Danny Yeung, CEO of Prenetics Ltd., urged companies to think about providing digital solutions to physicians to make sense of the data.

"There are emerging key themes with so much data available now, physicians have all the information they need to make better decisions with and for their patients now," said Yeung,

That in turn has a domino effect, leading to a shift in roles for health care stakeholders.

"Now, insurance companies like United Healthcare Group, are looking at ways to be a total solutions provider instead of just an insurance provider, as their interest is in keeping the populace safe and healthy," said Yeung, whose genetic testing services with Prenetics is working in collaboration with insurance providers.

That could open up new partnership pathways for both biotech and med-tech companies.

"There is no doubt that digital health has impacted all industries, including pharma. The question is who to partner with to ride that wave. Companies will be left behind if they are not doing anything. But with the right incentives, partners and rights negotiated, partnerships are the way forward," said Yeung.

"The speed of disruption is faster than anyone can anticipate. Offering a holistic solution to needs, especially preventive ones, is key," he added.

Sebastian Sujka, CEO and founder of Xbird, a company that develops solutions for telehealth, holds the same opinion. "There's a huge gap between technological advances and technology that's applied in the health cycle," said Sujka.

Xbird, with a bright yellow canary bird as the company's logo, is taking advantage of that gap by offering an adaptable add-on to any existing app that enables the tracking of a user's actions or health statistics using a mobile phone's sensors. Sujka explained that artificial intelligence can serve as a detector for any signs of health problems, much like how canaries were used to warn coal miners of gas leaks.

"Prevention is better than cure and we need to make use of tech to translate the large amounts of behavioral and medical data available into something useful," said Sujla.