Real World Evidence Is Critical To Pharma’s Future: Can We Agree On What It Is?

Real world evidence is of huge strategic importance to the pharmaceutical industry. It is critical to demonstrating the value of existing products, and to developing new ones that effectively address patients’ needs. It is the key to a more efficient, sustainable health system. Sources of real world evidence are proliferating as technology and data analytics tools invade the health care space. This kind of data must feature prominently, and early, in product evidence plans.

Yet no one agrees on exactly what “real world evidence” is. There is no consensus on the validity of real world evidence – which comes in multiple forms – nor...