Digital Business and Entrepreneurship : Industry White Paper
Case Study : The Adoption of AI-Powered Solutions in Roche
1. Introduction
AI disruptive technology has gained popularity, especially since the Covid'19 pandemic. They revolutionize healthcare delivery by empowering patients to efficiently take a more active role in their personal health care through advanced natural language processing. (Peyroteo et al., 2021) indicated that many hospitals worldwide have introduced AI-powered services to comply with Covid regulations. Robotics, image analysis, illness prediction, virtual physicians and telemedicine are some key leverages of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in the healthcare sector (EPRS, 2022). The potential benefits of AI adoption in healthcare sector were discussed by (Lee et al., 2012) include cost reduction, improved service quality, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, has implemented AI technology effectively on a large scale. The objective of this white paper is to evaluate the digital transformation brought about by AI in Roche's operations which play a more significant role in shaping the future of healthcare industry. The value of data was made more evident through the use of sections and sub-sections for discussion. 1. Brief overview of Roche
Roche is a pharmaceuticals and diagnostics multinational company that was found in 1896. According to (Roche, 2023) Roche fact sheet 2022, the company manufactures and delivers medicines in over 150 countries around the world with capacity of 103,613 employees. 2022 fact sheet admits that Roche scored 63.3 CHF billion as sales for pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Figure 1 highlights the main worldwide access projects that were achieved by Roche in 2022 in partnership with several AI solution companies. Thanks to AI, 14.2 million patients were treated with Roche medicine and 267 thousand patients participated in clinical trials. In addition, 29 billion test results produced with Roche systems and 809 million Covid-19 tests conducted with Roche products. Also, (Roche, 2023, p. 97) stated that 52% more patients in low-and lower-middle-income countries accessed Roche core medicines because of its advance AI-powered services.
Figure 1. worldwide access projects that were achieved by Roche in 2022 with AI solutions partners. Source: Roche (2023).
As shown in figure 2, (Roche, 2023, p. 52) declared the launch of 7 new platforms, 24 tests and 9 digital solutions in 2022 to develop diagnostics part in pathological and molecular laboratories, diabetes care, information solutions, point of care and core lab.
Figure 2. AI integrated solutions to improve diagnostics outcome. Source: Roche (2023). (Roche, 2023) advances its digital foundation, strategy and portfolio to determine digital health sustainability in diagnostics as well as pathology. Recently, AI technology at Roche supports earlier decision-making, enabling therapeutic and diagnostic strategies, minimizes hospitalization, and enhances patient handling . (Roche, 2022) talked about harnessing the power of AI in drug discovery, clinical trials, personalized medicines and patients care. In all clinical trials, Roche carefully evaluates patients' diversity, ensuring its objective of innovating AI solutions that enhance outcomes for patients worldwide (Fashoyin-Aje et al., 2023). AI is adopted in the training and capacity-building, research partnerships, and providing diagnostic solutions. As an example, Africa genomic program aimed to contribute to the development of personalized healthcare solutions that improve patient outcomes and support sustainable healthcare systems (Roche, 2021). Roche has established several partnerships to implement AI technology in healthcare. (Clara, 2021) describes the partnership between Roche and Ibex Medical Analytics to create AI-based pathology apps for better patient care. During Covid-19, Roche implemented mobile health (mHealth) to lessen the risk of disease transmission and avoid the healthcare system from being overloaded by using home-based Covid-19 detection as well as monitoring (Lukas et AL., 2020). In his research, (Bolli et al., 2023) explained how AI technology in Roche has been a life-saving solution for patients in low- and middle-income communities.
2. Organizational factors and Data value
The success of digital transformation in Roche depends on various internal and external factors that enable the company to be rank 10 worldwide in the (Access to medicine, 2022) index. By that, Roche assured its AI solutions are effective, efficient, and well-received by patients and healthcare providers at convenient costs (aiR, 2021).
2.1. External Factors
2.1.1. Technological advancements
Figure 3 details the integration of AI solutions in Roche to improve the outcomes by launching 9 digital solutions and 7 new platforms in 2022. Launching NAVIFY platform as an example, helped healthcare professionals make more informed decisions about patient care. (Navify, 2023) indicated that such AI solution is solving the challenges of digital infrastructure, operational excellence, and medical impacts.
Figure 3. AI integrated solutions to improve outcomes. Source: Roche (2023).
2.1.2. Changing customers and clients' expectations
Roche adopts AI disruptive technology to engage patients and healthcare providers. As an example, (Roche,2018) applies Accu-Chek Connect system as a remote patient monitoring solution for diabetes patients. The system includes a blood glucose meter, mobile app, and web portal that enables healthcare providers to monitor patients' glucose levels and adjust their treatment plans as needed distantly.
2.1.3. Competition
In 2022, Roche has invested CHF 14.1 billion in research and development to cope with the innovation in pharmaceutical competitive market. (Gehring & Meyer, 2022) assured that Roche is rated amongst top 3 most sustainable healthcare organizations according to Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.
Table 1 Competitive analysis of 6 pharmaceutical companies, including Roche.
According to (comparably, 2023) provided data and (Kazim, 2023) way of conduction, (table 1) presents a competitive analysis between 6 pharmaceutical companies to grant adequate understanding about Roche unique strengths, weaknesses and to figure out the possible ways of improvement based on 8 criteria and ranking from 1 to 6 (Highest to lowest).
2.2. Internal factors
2.2.1. Roche culture and diversity
Figure 4 proves that no employee at Roche is judged or disadvantaged in the workplace because of their sexual orientation, racial or ethnic background, gender, beliefs, or origin. In such a supportive work environment, employees have enough freedom to develop and accomplish organizational goals related to digital transformation (Roche, 2023, P. 112).
Figure 4. Source: Roche culture and diversity. Roche (2023).
2.2.2. Data-driven decision-making
Data analytics is applied to make digital decisions related to therapeutics discovery, clinical trials, manufacturing and patients' engagement (Micalo, 2022). For instance, MySugr app uses data analytics to analyze patient glucose data and provide personalized coaching and support to help patients manage their diabetes (Roche diabetes, 2023).
Personalized healthcare (PHC) combines data, analytics and technology to improve lives and advance better health at a lower cost to people and to society. Figure 5 highlights the purposes of implementing PHC in Roche diagnostics.
Figure 5. The frontrunner in personalized healthcare. Source: Roche (2023).
Whatsmore, (Kulzer et al., 2018) mentioned in their research that Roche has improved its integrated Personalized Diabetes Management (iPDM) platform by deploying the customer satisfaction to process data analytics and allow healthcare professionals, employees and providers to view societal trends.
2.2.3. Collaborative approach
Roche partners with startups, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders to develop new digital solution (aiR, 2021). The Roche Group Innovation Engine was created to gather over 250 partners from 17 countries worldwide to develop new AI solutions, cut-edge data and technology capabilities (Roche, 2023).
Figure 6. The Roche Group innovation engines. Source: Roche (2023).
2.2.4. Regulatory and ethical compliances
Roche implemented 13 principles to guide ethical data use. For the sake of protecting patient security and privacy, Roche complies with the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the UN General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To secure patient data, a variety of organizational and technical controls were put in place, including access control, encryption, incident response, and training for employees (Roche, 2023).
3. The Role of People
The success of digital transformation in Roche depends on the people involved in its implementation and delivery (aiR, 2021). By engaging and empowering these individuals, Roche ensures the proper AI-powered solutions delivery to all stakeholders.
3.1. Leadership
(Block et al., 2023) mentioned the role of Roche leadership in partnership with the University of California in 2020 to launch multiple sclerosis telemonitoring which uses AI tools to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery. Roche chairman, Dr. Severin Schwan, was placed as first rank in Comparable with 5 leading companies (Comparably, 2023). The leadership team set the vision, goals, and strategies for the adoption of AI solutions. For example, (Microsoft News Center, 2021) announced that Roche general manager in Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Swilam, and Microsoft Signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021 to enhance the capabilities of the healthcare ecosystem through AI innovation.
3.2. IT personnel
(He et al., 2019) highlighted the responsibilities of IT personnel in the implementation and maintenance of the AI-powered solutions. IT team makes sure that implemented AI solutions are safe, dependable, and simple to use for patients and healthcare professionals. As an example, their involvement in On-Demand's digital app was significant. The role of IT personnel was major in all steps of implementation, maintenance, security, training concerned individuals, and integrating the On-demand app with electronic health records and clinical decision support tools (Roche sequencing store, 2020).
3.3. Employees
As per GEOS results in 2021, 93% of employees at Roche think their job has a beneficial influence on society, and 83% of them are delighted to work there (Roche, 2023). (Roche, 2023, p. 110) also indicated that Roche workers worldwide completed 3,430,401 hours of learning and training using internal learning platform on how to use adopted AI solutions, tools and devices. Employees work hand by hand with IT personnel to troubleshoot technical issues and quality assure the proper usage of AI technology with patients.
3.4. Patients
(Lukas, 2020) research proved Roche success in involving patients worldwide to get maximum use of AI solutions, especially after Covid-19 pandemic. As a successful experience, (Roche diabetes, 2023) highlighted the role of diabetes patients in the improvement of mySugr app and ensured its high-quality care by using the app regularly, entering accurate data, communicating effectively with healthcare professionals, providing feedback, and complying with relevant regulations.
3.5 . Regulatory bodies
At Roche, they comply with regulations to ensure the legality and safety of their AI solutions. (Hoffman, 2022) stated six bold actions taken by Roche for regulatory reform, based on European leadership in healthcare innovation. Roche also backs the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) regulatory road to Innovation and complies with the regulatory authorities to get required approvals, licensing, monitoring and policy development.
3.6. Societal trends
With Covid-19, the increasing demand for personalized and patient-centric healthcare has led Roche to a greater focus on development of effective and accessible AI solutions to remain competitive (Edgman-Levitan et al., 2021). Additionally, the aging population and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases fosters the need to AI technology for early diagnosis and preventative medicines (Kakulapati, 2023).
4. Conclusion and Recommendations
Roche is a multinational healthcare organization that has successfully implemented AI innovation worldwide. From the evidence-based literature review above, figure 7 ensures that Roche is classified between level 2 and 3 in the Digital Business Maturity Model. The company has proved to have high levels of AI technologies including intensive researches on both therapeutics as well as diagnostics.
Figure 7. Digital Business Maturity Model. Source: Fletcher, G. (2014).
All the processes are electronic and employees are able to work remotely, indicating almost paperless work that may highly contribute to sustainability. Moreover, Roche had extreme engagement with policy makers and stakeholders leading to the success of digital transformation. (F.Hoffmann, 2021) explained in detail how Roche has leveraged Digital AI solutions to approach maximum population and encouraged private sector to invest in the industry.
Figure 8 shows that Roche AI solutions are freely available for the benefit of other countries. However, for the developing countries like Ghana, there are some basic challenges that need to be dealt with before implementing digital transformation such as cybersecurity risks, data security issues and lack of interoperability among different systems (Dal Mas et al., 2023). On the other hand, patients may lack the technological infrastructure needed for AI implementation especially for disabled patients with eyesight problems or hearing impairment. In all this, the developing communities need support and trainings to ensure the possibility of digital transformation.
Figure 8. People and Culture. Source: Roche (2023).
Roche may employ the AI technology aspect of certain partners like Doctor on Demand or Amwell to integrate its diagnostic and treatment capabilities in schools, workplaces and nursing homes in portable kiosks to extend immediate assistance to kids, students, elderlies, and employees for emergency cases. Particularly in poor and developing countries, this will reduce mortality and cost needed to conduct healthcare services (Cheng et al., 2023).
AI technology may efficiently be utilized for Covid-19 and other potential infectious diseases. Roche can also limit future Covid-19 outbreaks and improve patient outcomes by quick at-home screening, mobile health (mHealth) reporting, and integrated wearable AI technologies for symptom monitoring and prediction (Lukas et al., 2020).
Roche is expected to advance several AI solution strategies and integrate it to the company business objectives and healthcare delivery model. These strategies should be more user-friendly, secure and scalable for all stakeholders. To make such AI strategies successful, Roche is recommended to invest more in training health professionals and healthcare providers especially in low- and mid-income countries to assure proper healthcare delivery to patients.
(Access to medicine, 2021) highlighted several opportunities for Roche that may considered as future recommendations. Firstly, Roche needs to guarantee proper access approaches to the late-stage research and development initiatives. Then, Roche can extend the use of oncology product accessibility methods. Finally, Roche is recommended to broaden its efforts to develop manufacturing capabilities in more countries.
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