Technical Expertise vs Customer Experience – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1150

Technical Expertise vs Customer Experience – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1150

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1150 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here.

Credit: Anna Shvets

Credit: Pixabay

Preamble

I am a regular reader of a technology newsletter by Rob Howard at innovatingwithai.com.  A recent edition talked about the disaster created by OpenAI upon itself when they launched GPT5.0 and disconnected earlier versions. The consumers were confused and unhappy. The analysis is that being a technology company is one part, while being a consumer company is an altogether different area, where OpenAI did not exist.

Similar situations are seen in Pharma industry when a high-tech, great product does not take into account user/consumer/patient experience. Some examples follow.

Technology vs Commercialization

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most research-intensive sectors in the world. Companies spend billions of dollars developing innovative medicines, conducting large-scale clinical trials, and gaining regulatory approvals. Technical expertise, the ability to design, test, and manufacture safe and effective drugs, is the backbone of the industry.

Yet history shows that even the most technically advanced products can fail commercially. Why? Because technical expertise and customer experience are two distinct domains. Success in pharma requires both. A drug that works in theory may not succeed in practice if patients cannot tolerate it, if physicians find it difficult to prescribe, or if healthcare systems cannot integrate it.

This tension between science and market reality is not new. From glitazones to inhaled insulins, Big Pharma has seen groundbreaking products stumble because customer experience was neglected. Understanding these lessons is crucial for the next wave of innovation, particularly in the age of personalized medicine, AI-driven drug discovery, and digital therapeutics.

• Pharmaceutical companies excel at:

• Discovering new molecules with novel mechanisms of action.

• Designing large-scale trials to prove safety and efficacy.

• Complying with complex regulations to gain approval across geographies.

• Scaling up manufacturing to deliver medicines globally.

This technical depth is unmatched. However, pharma is not just about science; it is also about human behavior, accessibility, and trust. Drugs are taken by people in the context of their daily lives, and healthcare providers make prescribing decisions influenced by safety, convenience, and patient adherence. If companies ignore the customer experience side — how patients, doctors, and health systems perceive and use the medicine — the best science may fall flat.

Lessons from Past Failures

Exubera: Pfizer’s Inhaled Insulin (2006)

Exubera was hailed as a breakthrough. For decades, researchers sought alternatives to painful insulin injections for diabetics. Pfizer’s Exubera, an inhaled insulin powder, promised convenience and innovation.

The problem:

• The inhaler device was bulky, awkward, and difficult for patients to carry.

• Many physicians were reluctant to prescribe it due to uncertainties about long-term lung safety.

• Insurance coverage was limited, making it expensive compared to injections.

Despite billions invested, Exubera was pulled from the market within a year. The science worked, patients could absorb insulin via inhalation, but the customer experience was poor. A smaller, simpler, and cheaper device might have changed its fate.

Vioxx: Merck’s Blockbuster Turned Disaster (1999–2004)

Merck’s Vioxx was technically a marvel, a selective COX-2 inhibitor that relieved arthritis pain without the stomach issues caused by older NSAIDs. Initially, it was a blockbuster.

The problem:

• Post-marketing studies revealed increased risks of heart attacks and strokes.

• The product was withdrawn in 2004 after safety scandals and lawsuits.

Here, technical expertise delivered a drug that worked well, but customer trust collapsed due to safety concerns. The experience for patients and doctors shifted from relief to fear. Vioxx became an example of how ignoring the broader experience (long-term safety, transparency, communication) can undo even the most technically successful products.

Avandia: GlaxoSmithKline’s Diabetes Drug (1999)

Avandia was another technically sound product, designed to improve insulin sensitivity in Type 2 diabetes patients. It gained quick popularity and generated billions in sales.

The problem:

• Later studies showed significant cardiovascular risks.

• Regulators imposed restrictions, physicians lost confidence, and patients shifted to alternatives.

The science worked for glucose control, but the patient experience of risk outweighed the benefits. Here, the technical achievement of lowering blood sugar could not offset concerns about heart safety.

Dendreon’s Provenge (2010)

Provenge was the first FDA-approved therapeutic cancer vaccine, targeting prostate cancer. It was revolutionary, a personalized immunotherapy before such approaches became mainstream.

The problem:

• The treatment was complex, requiring extraction, modification, and reinfusion of a patient’s immune cells.

• It was extremely expensive (about \$93,000 per course).

• Physicians found it logistically challenging to administer.

Despite groundbreaking science, Provenge never gained significant traction. The customer experience, high cost, complexity, and limited accessibility, killed adoption.

Why Customer Experience Matters

These examples illustrate a crucial point: patients and providers value usability, safety, trust, and affordability as much as scientific innovation. Technical expertise delivers the product, but customer experience determines its adoption and longevity.

Factors influencing customer experience include:

• Ease of use: Is the drug convenient to administer?

• Safety perception: Are risks transparent and manageable?

• Affordability: Is it covered by insurance or accessible in lower-income markets?

• Physician confidence: Is there enough evidence and support for prescribing?

• Patient adherence: Will patients stick to the treatment in real life?

When these factors align, technically strong products succeed (e.g., statins, biologics like Humira). When they don’t, failure often follows.

Implications for the Future

The future of pharma, from gene therapies and CAR-T treatments to digital health apps and AI-driven interventions, will amplify this tension between science and experience. The more complex the science, the greater the need to design around the user.

For example:

• Gene therapies may cure once-incurable diseases, but their million-dollar price tags pose access and affordability challenges.

• CAR-T therapies save lives in cancer, yet their logistics and toxicity profiles limit widespread adoption.

• AI-driven health apps may support mental health or medication adherence, but trust, privacy, and cultural acceptance will define their uptake.

In Pakistan and other developing markets, these issues are even sharper. Patients face affordability barriers, fragmented healthcare systems, and limited awareness. A technically brilliant drug may fail unless adapted to local needs — pricing, cultural sensitivity, and ease of use.

How Pharma Should Respond

Embed Human-Centered Design – Drug development should integrate patient and physician feedback early. Usability studies, like those in consumer tech, can prevent products like Exubera from repeating history.

Focus on Real-World Evidence – Beyond clinical trials, companies must track how drugs perform in everyday settings, ensuring long-term safety and adherence.

Build Trust Through Transparency – Openly sharing risks, side effects, and uncertainties builds confidence. Vioxx and Avandia eroded trust because of delayed disclosure.

Invest in Affordability Models – Tiered pricing, partnerships with governments, and insurance collaborations can make breakthrough therapies accessible, especially in markets like Pakistan.

Sum Up

The history of pharmaceutical innovation is filled with brilliant science that stumbled when confronted with real-world complexity. Technical expertise brings the drug to life, but customer experience determines its survival. As pharma moves toward Vision 2030, with gene therapies, digital health, and AI-driven care, the lesson is clear. Success lies at the intersection of science and experience. In Pakistan and globally, companies must not only innovate in labs but also innovate in how medicines are delivered, accessed, and trusted. The patients do not just need a scientifically sound product. They need a therapy they can afford, trust, and integrate into their lives. That is the true test of pharmaceutical success.

Concluded.

Disclaimers: Pictures in these blogs are taken from free resources at Pexels, Pixabay, Unsplash, and Google. Credit is given where available. If a copyright claim is lodged, we shall remove the picture with appropriate regrets.

For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, any claim is lodged, it will be acknowledged and recognized duly.

Link:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/08/the-gpt-5-rollout-has-been-a-big-mess/?ck_subscriber_id=2813475751