EP327: Pharma Hooking Up With Start-ups, With Naomi Fried, PhD, About PharmStars™

In Episode 327, Stacey Richter talks with Naomi Fried, PhD, founder and CEO of PharmStars, about why the gap between Pharma and digital health start-ups is so hard to close — and what each side needs to understand about the other to actually make partnerships work.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

✅ What the pharma–start-up gap actually looks like, and why it's so hard to navigate Big Pharma

✅ Why a lack of understanding on both sides drives much of the friction in these partnerships

✅ Where start-ups run into regulatory oversight and compliance surprises when working with Pharma

✅ Why start-ups are often surprised by how many stakeholders are involved in pharma decision-making

✅ What start-ups need to understand about what Pharma actually needs and will pay for

WHY THIS MATTERS

Pharma may be one of the only entities with the bandwidth, money, and expertise to fill certain patient care gaps — especially in narrow therapeutic categories like rare diseases — without necessarily driving up the price of care, if the spend comes out of existing budgets. But even when the will is there, start-ups and Pharma often can't find each other or communicate well enough to make it work, which is exactly the gap PharmStars is trying to close.

=== LINKS ===

🔗 Show Notes with all mentioned links: Episode Page

🔗 Healthcare Industry Acronyms and Terms

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00:00 Introduction.

03:42 What does the pharma–start-up gap look like?

05:49 Why is it hard to navigate Big Pharma when trying to partner with start-ups?

09:53 "A lot of what contributes to that pharma–start-up gap is a lack of understanding."

10:05 What's the best way to navigate the pharma–start-up partnership?

10:55 "There's not a clear path as to who should be engaged from the pharma side, because the value proposition wasn't well articulated."

12:27 "Even if … the product is better, if it's such an uphill battle to get them through the hoops and to work with them, they may not be the partner of choice."

13:45 Why are start-ups surprised at who all is involved with the decision-making process on the pharma side?

15:51 Where might start-ups run into regulatory oversight compliance issues?

20:41 "Setting expectations and talking early on … really, just understanding on both sides … they have to meet each other and work around these requirements."

22:02 "Start-ups really are under financial pressure."

26:33 "Pharma has a lot to offer digital health start-ups."

27:40 Is Pharma any good at selling something to a provider?

29:22 What do start-ups need to keep in mind when pitching to Pharma?

30:35 "Understanding Pharma's needs, how they work, what they will pay for is so important for start-ups."