The life sciences industry is in a constant state of advancement, bringing more and more groundbreaking medicines, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative solutions to market. Amidst these rapid changes, patients remain at the heart of these scientific developments.

In recent decades, the life sciences industry has experienced a monumental shift toward embedding patient insights and experience throughout medicine development. It has pivoted from traditional, insular decision-making to a more open, inclusive, and collaborative approach that values insights from patient communities to guide strategy. This patient-focused perspective extends right across the product life cycle from drug discovery and development to regulatory decision-making, measuring outcomes, and defining value.

Patient engagement and its involvement in drug development has been on the rise for decades. A significant leap forward was achieved in the 1980s when people affected by HIV rallied together and created an HIV advocacy movement that established the importance of patient-driven clinical trials. The HIV community’s advocacy caused a reassessment of how much evidence is needed to gain access to potentially life-saving therapies which prompted a complete overhaul i