One prototype though is not where they have stopped. They also have another site which is live and the app is real. The iPhone app is available through the strength for caring website. The app called CareConnect is application designed for caregivers. It gives them helpful tools and also attempts to build community for those who can feel lonely in their care giving efforts. The best part is neither of these apps share data with J&J or actively driving more product for J&J - but the use of these apps can help drive compliance and that leads to better outcomes. Better outcomes is what every patient, physician, payor and biopharma wants. A good win-win.
Why on earth I hear you ask is this on a blog about R&D? Well that's simple. Every product we develop should be what is called a Targeted Treatment Solution (a term coined in the IBM Pharma 2010 "The Threshold of Innovation").
A targeted treatment solution is a healthcare package for treating specific disease pathologies (see the figure above). They will typically consist of biological rather than chemical molecules, based on clinically validated targets derived from a better understanding of particular disease pathology, and aimed at specific disease populations. They will measurably modify the diseases for which they are prescribed, with outcomes data and disease progression markers providing proof of efficacy. And a network of services for diagnosing, treating, monitoring and supporting patients will support them. This is what J&J is using the iPhone for!
These apps will enable pharmaceutical companies to generate more intellectual capital and get closer to patients, which will in turn help them to establish a dominant position in the treatment of particular disease pathologies.
