IPG Health @ Fierce Pharma Week 2025 | Key takeaways for healthcare marketers and strategists

Our experts from AREA 23 on Hudson, FCB Health New York, SOLVE(D) and YuzuYello share their insights after experiencing the latest cutting-edge insights, strategies and innovations firsthand at Fierce Pharma Week 2025. 

Blending AI and omnichannel to create experiences that matter in healthcare 

By Lyzeth Strenz, Director, CRM Strategy, FCB Health New York 

Fierce Pharma Week reinforced one truth: the future of healthcare marketing will be defined by how well we combine AI-driven intelligence with omnichannel execution to create meaningful, measurable engagement. 

  • AI is no longer optional: During the session "AI with EQ: Leading with Empathy in Healthcare’s Data-Driven Era" at Fierce Pharma Marketing Week 2025, it was shared that 42% of life sciences leaders now dedicate more than 20% of their budgets to AI initiatives. The payoff is clear: predictive analytics that reduce strokes by 22%, hyper-segmentation for rare disease launches and automated content generation that accelerates time to market. But AI alone is not enough. Human oversight remains critical to ensure accuracy, empathy and compliance. 
  • Omnichannel is the new baseline: According to the session "From Prescriptions to Prescriptive Journeys: Redefining Omnichannel," campaigns that connect channels are about 1.5 times more persuasive and significantly less fatiguing than siloed efforts. The challenge is not technology; it is aligning teams, data and compliance to deliver a seamless experience. 
  • Patients expect consumer-grade experiences: 82% of patients are willing to share their data for personalization, and nearly all trust patient portals, according to the session "Decoding the Future of Healthcare for Marketers: What Patients Want from Their Digital Healthcare Experience." Convenience and empathy are no longer differentiators; they are table stakes. 

AI and omnichannel are giving us the tools to move faster and smarter, but the real win is using them to create experiences that feel human. As we heard throughout the event, when we turn data into stories that resonate, we can make complex science approachable and build deeper connections with patients and providers. 

Trust, personalization and the next era of patient support 

By Heidi Ward, Experience Design Strategy Supervisor, YuzuYello 

At Fierce Pharma Week, a consistent theme stood out: patient journeys are not linear. Every patient has unique needs, behaviors, trusted sources and preferred touchpoints. To create meaningful experiences that patients want to engage with, patient support programs must evolve from one-size-fits-all touchpoints toward dynamic, personalized connections that build trust. 

  • Personalization beyond cadence: Patients no longer follow set communication paths. In a thoughtful discussion during the panel "Meeting Today’s Healthcare Consumer: Value-Driven, Customer-First Strategies," experts emphasized that engagement should dictate the journey, not the other way around. Technology now allows us to meet patients where they are, delivering the right content in the format, tone and channel they prefer, at the moment they’re ready. 
  • Trust is deeply personal: Trust is not the same for everyone; it varies by each individual, shaped by past experiences, cultural context, preferred platforms and more. In the session "Transforming the Patient Engagement Playbook to Change Minds and Save Lives," Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, DFAPA, MFPM challenged the notion that trust can be built at scale, reminding us that patients not only trust for different reasons, but also define "trustworthy" differently. To build authentic connections, patient support programs must ask and listen first – understanding what information each patient wants, who they want to hear it from and where they want to receive it. 
  • AI is accelerating the future of personalization: Delivering on truly personalized experiences requires far more content than current models allow. AI makes this possible by accelerating content generation, streamlining approval and scaling personalization across channels. It doesn’t stop there – AI enables continuous monitoring, identifying adherence risks in real time and allowing interventions at the exact moment they matter most. What was once considered the future is now here, and we must adapt quickly to deliver more impactful support and improve long-term outcomes.   

A key takeaway from Fierce Pharma Week is that the future of patient support requires a mindset shift, from scripted journeys to adaptive ecosystems. By combining empathetic communication with AI-driven personalization, pharma can deliver relevant micro-experiences that feel human and trustworthy. This approach empowers adherence, fosters authentic patient relationships and ensures support programs resonate with individuals, at scale. 

How Medical Affairs is redefining itself at the intersection of science, AI and storytelling  

By Hilary Armstrong, Group Director, Medical Strategy, AREA 23 on Hudson 

At Fierce Pharma Week, it was clear to me that Medical Affairs (MA) is redefining itself at the intersection of science, technology and creativity. As one panelist remarked, "You can continue to do things the old way and get old results, or you can embrace the change," highlighting the urgency of incorporating new approaches.  

Top themes included: 

  • AI + human co-intelligence: Across several panels it was noted, while 44% of pharma companies are investing heavily in AI, many still lack the right applications. Sessions emphasized that AI is a tool, not an end-to-end solution, and that generative AI alone is insufficient. Sophisticated, purpose-built AI is required, always paired with empathy and human oversight. 
  • Omnichannel in MA: Omnichannel isn’t just for commercial use. MA teams are customizing content to meet HCPs where and how they prefer to learn, powered by data collection that compounds over time and enhances ROI. 
  • Creativity and storytelling in MA: The bias that MA "can’t be creative" was challenged throughout the event. Creative presentation styles reduce cognitive load, capture attention and – when balanced with compliance – are more likely to turn words into actions. 
  • Field medical as strategic partners: Medical Science Liaisons are moving beyond relying solely on reactive support to become insight generators. They are now, more than ever, feeding strategic intelligence back into organizations in real time. 

Medical Affairs is no longer defined by what it supports, but by what it can shape. By embracing innovation with purpose, it has the potential to lead healthcare into a more connected, creative and patient-centered future. 

Key takeaways for healthcare media strategists

By SOLVE(D)'s Kate Bowen, Director, Analytics & Insights; Lindsay Dinan, Director, Business Development; Sabine Jean-Baptiste, Director, Media; and Eva Sala, Director, Media

Fierce Pharma Week 2025 shed light on insights that will meaningfully shape how we think about 2026 media planning. The conversations underscored how technology, regulation and patient expectations are converging to push pharma marketing into a more intelligent, human-centered and connected era.

  • AI is transforming the pharma value chain: AI is driving personalization, predictive analytics, content automation and real-time engagement – reshaping everything from drug discovery and commercialization to marketing execution. As a panelist from the session "From Broadcast to Bespoke" noted, "It’s impossible to meet the personalization needs of the future without AI," reinforcing that without predictive tools, pharma can’t scale personalized engagement.
  • Patient-centricity is non-negotiable: Patient education, empathy and digital tools (like portals and apps) are critical to improving adherence, building trust and turning real-world data into meaningful engagement. A speaker from the session "Translating Patient Insights into Actionable DTC Strategies" shared that, "Building on the segmentation idea… it’s not just about the data, it’s that these are people," reminding us that patient-centricity demands empathy first plus signals-based precision.
  • Collaboration across functions is essential: Effective omnichannel strategies depend on breaking down silos between medical, legal, regulatory and commercial teams – ensuring shared data, unified storytelling and consistent patient/HCP experiences.  As one speaker noted during a patient engagement strategies panel, "Agencies need to be working together so that, synergistically, one plus one equals ten," a reminder that collaboration is a force multiplier in omnichannel execution.
  • CTV and digital media are redefining pharma advertising: Connected TV (CTV) enables measurable, privacy-safe and highly targeted campaigns – especially valuable for rare diseases and challenger brands – while complementing linear TV for scale. As emphasized in "From Linear to Connected TV," "CTV is such an important part of your storytelling power and digital accountability," offering both reach and measurable ROI.
  • Governance and human oversight safeguard innovation: As AI adoption accelerates, compliance frameworks (HIPAA, GDPR, FDA) and human empathy are necessary to prevent misinformation, manage risk and maintain trust.  As one presenter cautioned in "AI with EQ," "Unchecked AI can amplify errors — only human oversight ensures empathy and context remain central." This underscores that as pharma embraces AI, it’s not enough to innovate quickly. Success will hinge on pairing technological power with ethical guardrails and human empathy to protect patient trust.

As we plan for 2026, these themes reinforce the importance of designing media strategies that are orchestrated, data-driven, privacy-safe and above all, human. Pharma marketers should expect media to continue evolving rapidly. Success will depend on the ability to harness insights responsibly, integrate storytelling with precision targeting and adapt to audiences' changing media behaviors. By embracing these shifts, pharma marketers can ensure their work not only reaches the right people, but also resonates with empathy, relevance and measurable impact.

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