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Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.
There’s a lot going on in the pharmaceutical industry, from skyrocketing GLP-1 sales to the breakdown of retail pharmacy to drugmakers getting into the direct-to-consumer space.
While no one can perfectly predict what the new year will bring, Healthcare Brew asked pharma executives to give their thoughts on what 2025 might bring.
These answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Geoff Cook, CEO, Noom
As healthcare evolves, compounding pharmacies are set to play a growing role in delivering personalized care and improving access and affordability of life-saving medications. These pharmacies have already proven to be critical for patients looking to get access to GLP-1s. With the US facing a drug pricing and accessibility crisis, regulatory frameworks that support wider compounding production capabilities will enhance greater patient personalization, choice, and affordability, ultimately transforming the healthcare landscape. Such a shift will redefine how we approach patient care in 2025, ensuring that essential medications are tailored to individual needs and remain within reach for those who need them most.
Sean Duffy, co-founder and CEO, Omada Health
Unfortunately, our nation’s chronic disease burden is here to stay in 2025. The GLP-1 boom is a promising solution and has the potential to level out rising obesity rates in the US, but for GLP-1s to have an outsized impact on public health, employers and health plans need to ensure that those who truly need these medications are getting them. I believe we’ll start to see greater adoption of these programs in 2025 as employers begin to recognize that GLP-1s alone aren’t enough. Plans and employers recognize the importance of GLP-1 companion care for users throughout their journey. It’s clear that, right now, the amount of time folks are on these drugs at the current price point, plus added access challenges, are a recipe for overspending and limited results.
Erik Terjesen, partner, Silicon Foundry
The accessibility and hyperdevelopment of foundation models in 2024 have equipped emerging startups to focus on building the next frontier of artificial intelligence (AI): AI agents. As we approach 2025, these intelligent systems trained to autonomously execute specific tasks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, offering unprecedented capabilities in streamlining complex processes and enhancing decision-making across industries. For pharma specifically, AI agents can be trained to manage multistep processes, from optimizing the design of clinical trial protocols to mitigating supply chain risks and reallocating R&D resources. We are seeing startups build AI agents that tackle administrative burdens, enhance decision-making processes, and ultimately allow healthcare providers to dedicate more time and resources to patient care.