Chugai Pharmaceuticals: Digital Services ‹Beyond the Pill›

• By using real user feedback to firm up the product vision, Zühlke laid the foundations for new revenue streams

• Concrete strategic options for designing digital services

• Analysis of market-specific reimbursement models enabled better assessment of future value streams

Pharmaceutical company Chugai wanted to launch new digital services in Europe. Zühlke developed a range of strategic action plans.

A standalone business model for digital services

Chugai is a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company owned by the Roche Group, which offers innovative therapies in the fields of rheumatology, oncology and hemophilia. It wanted to establish itself as a provider of digital solutions in Europe. Chugai’s team in Germany planned to build on existing content to create a new digital service offering with own revenue streams. Zühlke was brought in to support Chugai in building new insights and developing specific options for digital business models and technologies.

Technology and business impact options

Within a few weeks, Zühlke used workshops and interviews to generate insights into patient pain points and develop potential approaches to digital services. Chugai and Zühlke then conducted patient interviews to validate hypotheses on user pain points and potential revenue streams. The results of these interviews were then used to develop actionable options regarding technology and business impact. 

Refining the concept

By working with Zühlke, Chugai was able to rapidly firm up its product vision with real user feedback, laying the foundations for new digital business models. Zühlke additionally developed a range of concrete strategic options including opportunities and risks for designing digital services. Zühlke and Chugai then initiated a further joint elaboration of the business idea and their validation with potential customers.