-: Exciting times for medical,
and I'd love to hear
about the current state of medical in biopharma.
-: You know, we are at the cusp and inflection point
of a really transformative moment in clinical research.
Clinical research has really evolved
from an area where we had focused on the evidence,
but we are really now focusing on the delivery of care
and translating that evidence into the clinical setting.
-: Most of our medical departments are driving
for additional efficiencies.
How do we get better and faster at filling the gaps in data?
How do we get faster and better at bringing in insights
on the gaps in clinical care, the challenges patients face?
-: And so Sunil, what does that mean for you
for the future of medical then?
-: Now we have to really understand
what does it take for the medicines to reach patients?
But then how do we better improve the patient experience
with our medicines?
-: And of that, what excites you the most?
-: What excites me the most is this evolution in care
where we have gone from evidence-based medicine
to precision medicine,
which is like a biomarker X equals treatment Y
to now personalize medicine,
with the patient, the person, in the center.
-: Michael, from your perspective then,
what does it mean for biopharma right now?
-: Biopharma needs to be very thoughtful about the skills
that they're bringing into their medical departments.
The skills of the past may not be, and I would argue,
are not the skills of the future.
We've got a health care system that is burgeoning with data,
but we have not reached the full potential
of understanding that data
and being able to therefore improve outcomes.
The reality is,
whether we, as medical professionals, like it or not,
you know, most people go to Google or trust YouTube,
and so we need to be really present in the digital space
telling our stories, monitoring what's out there,
being comfortable confronting when we see misinformation
and aggressively correcting that.
-: And Sunil, so for your team,
the AstraZeneca Oncology Business Unit's medical team,
what is your vision then for them in the coming years?
-: The grand vision is really science to care.
We have three important pillars.
One is how do we transform care today?
And part of that
is how do we better understand the care gaps,
but how do we better understand...
how do we provide the information with the right channels
to the clinical community?
The second is how do we effectively partner?
That partnership has to be with a broader health ecosystem
that includes the clinical team,
includes the health system,
includes health technology,
includes data,
includes patient groups.
And a third pillar is really redefining
what the cancer care paradigm could look like.
-: Well, very valid points in the sense of also
if you do that, we know there's still a lot of inequity
in terms of cancer access and survival and outcomes.
And I think if you bring that patient voice,
you also bring it in a diverse way,
and you bring all of those perspectives together.
So exciting times for medical
and within pharmaceutical companies.
Also exciting times, I think,
for the medical and the clinical community,
and patients, and anyone involved really in cancer care.
So thank you, both,
for taking the time to share your perspectives.
And I hope that, you know,
we can start to see some continued change
and transformation in cancer care.