Presentation given during a Merqurio.it webinar 26 March 2021. Outlines the implications of covid-disrupted medical society conferences for the Italian pharma industry and the pharma industry in general: likely conference formats 2021; emerging formats 2022 and beyond; % Italian doctors attending major events; hybrid complexity from a pharma perspective; 4 key pharma survival strategies.

1. DISRUPTED MEDICAL CONFERENCES
What does it mean for Italian pharmas?
Len starnes
Digital healthcare consultant
Merqurio webinar
26 March 2021

2. Dimensions of disruption
Doctors’ opinions of virtual events changed dramatically
Long-term impacts will be profound
Pharma must learn how to thrive in the new normal

3. VIRTUAL REALITY 2020

4. PROS CONS
Over 50%
increase in attendance
Physical 2019 Virtual 2020
22,094
33,784
https://erscongress.org/images/Industry/Industry-
2020/documents/ERS2021_website_stats_report.pdf

5. PROS CONS
www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/
Press-releases/Best-of-ESC-Congress-2020-The-Digital-Experience
Over 130% increase in attendance
33,510
Physical 2019 Virtual 2020
77,000

6. PROS CONS
Italian doctors:
Attendance up
almost 110%
Physical 2019 Virtual 2020
1459
3031
Source:
ESC Press Office
18.2.21

7. PROS CONS
Overwhelming
majority of Italian
cardiologists
(IFC members)
attended online
www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Member-National-Cardiac-Societies/Italian-
Federation-of-Cardiology
Over 67%
ESC Press Office
18.2.21

8. PROS CONS
Italian doctors:
Attendance
up 40%
Physical 2019 Virtual 2020
187
263
www.ese-hormones.org/media/3048/e-ece-2021-
prospectus-final-21012021.pdf

9. Less than half of EU5/US doctors prefer physical
Healthcare professionals’ experiences of
virtual congress. September 2020,
IPCAA & Ashfield Meetings. Ashfieldmeetings.com
48%
Prefer physical
38%
Prefer balance
physical & virtual
12%
Prefer virtual 2%
No response
Survey of > 300 doctors
in EU5 & USA
n = 50

10. Less than half of doctors from 56 countries
prefer physical
46%
Prefer physical
33%
Prefer virtual
21%
Prefer hybrid
Survey of 1030
doctors in
56 countries, inc
Status: 9 March 2021
G-Med Physicians member survey
www.g-med.com

11. 92%
Now consider
attending virtually
Survey of > 300 doctors
in EU5 & USA
Doctors’ traditional reluctance to attend
virtual congresses changed dramatically
Healthcare professionals’ experiences of
virtual congress. September 2020,
IPCAA & Ashfield Meetings. Ashfieldmeetings.com
n = 50

12. What doctors say about virtual events
PROS CONS
Not being away from home
Eliminates travel
Significantly reduced costs
Global access
Educational experience as good
as or better than physical
Unable to physically network
No serendipitous collaboration
opportunities
Occasional technical glitches

13. 2021 & BEYOND
What to expect

14. PROBABLE FORMATS 2021
HYBRID
Virtual
Physical Hybrid
Status: 26.3.21

15. Significant shift from physical to virtual H1

16. ESMO
17 - 21 Sept
Paris
ERS
4 - 8 Sept
Barcelona
Face-to-face events
in Europe looking
less likely

17. European Academy of
Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Just 1 EU hybrid scheduled for 2021
eaaci.org/eaaci-congresses/eaaci-2021
Status: 26.3.21

18. WHAT DOES HYBRID MEAN?
An event that enables delegates,
speakers and commercial partners at a
physical venue to effortlessly engage
with delegates, speakers and commercial
partners attending virtually

19. Physical events
HARD
T h e a w f u l t r u t h
Virtual events
HARDER
Hybrid events
EVEN HARDER

20. Hybrid: bewildering array
of exhibition options
www.eaaci.org/sponsorship/events/detail/eaaci-hybrid-2021
PHYSICAL
2 packages
Accessible 3 days
No visitor data
Price range €29.4k - 5.9k
VIRTUAL
4 packages
Accessible 6 months
Metrics analyses
Price range €13k - 6k

21. Pharma’s 2020 virtual exhibition
stands were a flop
Healthcare professionals’ experiences of
virtual congress. September 2020,
IPCAA & Ashfield Meetings. Ashfieldmeetings.com
20%
of doctors visited a stand
47%
of doctors did not
try to connect with
representatives or MSLs
n = 50
Survey of
> 300 doctors
in EU5 & USA

22. Hybrid: bewildering array
of symposia options
www.eaaci.org/sponsorship/events/detail/eaaci-hybrid-2021
PHYSICAL
3 packages
Accessible 1 hour
No attendee data
Price range €109k - 49k
VIRTUAL
6 packages
Accessible 3 years
Metrics analyses
Price range €70k - 32.5k

23. Pharma’s 2020 virtual symposia
were generally well received
45%
Attended symposia
via live & on-demand
sessions
Healthcare professionals’ experiences of
virtual congress. September 2020,
IPCAA & Ashfield Meetings. Ashfieldmeetings.com
Survey of
> 300 doctors
in EU5 & USA
n = 50

24. Virtual conference analytics are a
differentiating attribute of the new normal
Demographics, prescriber information, speciality, user statistics

25. FORMAT OPTIONS 2022 & BEYOND
Hybrid
Physical
only
Virtual
Physical +
upgraded
live &
on-demand
Highly unlikely Will replace
many previous
physical events
Pragmatic
alternative to
pure hybrid
Complexity may
slow or halt
adoption
Status: 26.3.21

26. Not explicitly hybrid
www.ectrims-congress.eu/2021.html
?

27. Hybrid
Virtual
Hybrid
Physical +
upgraded
live &
on-demand
Pharma survival strategies
Respond to doctors’ digital expectations
Boost internal digital skills & capabilities
Master effective virtual engagement
Harness the power of data & analytics

28. Expect more change…
much more change

29. Future change drivers
GENERATION Z
DOCTORS
MILLENNIAL
DOCTORS
+

30. 2030 & beyond
Fear of Climate Change will determine formats
Virtual dominates

31. Related resources
Medical society conferences: What we learnt in 2020, what might happen in 2021
MedComms Networking webinar, 20 January 2021
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM8ghCANNT0&feature=emb_title
Disrupted events: what’s happening in #Medcomms practice?
MedComms Networking webinar, 20 July 2020
www.medcommsnetworking.com/forum_july2020.html
Scientists want virtual meetings to stay after the COVID pandemic
Nature, 2 March 2021
www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00513-
1?utm_source=twt_nnc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=naturenews
Virtual conferencing: A roadmap for pharma
4 April 2016
www.slideshare.net/lenstarnes/virtual-conferencing-a-roadmap-for-pharma
Eurostat Statistics Explained:
Healthcare personnel statistics – physicians. 10 September 2020
//ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Healthcare_personnel_statistics_-_physicians
Millennials: The Unforeseen Generation That Will Lead Healthcare Transformation, March 2018
www.aha.org/sites/default/files/2018-03/180321-workforce-webinar.pdf

32. • Ashfield Event Experiences
Andrew Moore, Head of HCP Engagement
For providing details of the survey data set: Healthcare Professionals’
Experiences of Virtual Congresses, September 2020
• European Committee for Treatment and Research in
Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS)
For providing context to the format of their 2021 annual congress
• European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
Justine Pinot, Press Officer
For providing number and country of origin of delegates attending
ESC Congress 2020
• G-Med Physicians
Ilan Ben Ezri, CEO, & Cassandra Leah Gomes, Content Manager
For generously agreeing to conduct a survey of members’ future
medical conference preferences
• International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory
Association (IPCAA)
For providing details of the survey data set: Healthcare Professionals’
Experiences of Virtual Congresses, September 2020
A sincere thanks to
the following for their
support in developing
this presentation

33. lenstarnes@gmail.com
T: + 49 30 781 5513
M: + 49 172 1788253
Skype: lenstarnes
www.linkedin.com/in/lenstarnes
www.twitter.com/lenstarnes
www.slideshare.net/lenstarnes
Len Starnes
Len Starnes Digital Healthcare
Research and Consulting