From Patient to Value: 5 Life Sciences and Healthcare Trends Measuring Executive Performance by 2030

While the overall purpose of Life Sciences and Healthcare enterprises centers on the patient, executives must also focus on immediate business priorities—driving top-line growth, improving bottom-line performance, and seizing present opportunities.

However, this intense focus can make it challenging to find time for considering their company’s long-term strategy and envisioning where it should be in a decade, let alone planning the steps needed to get there. 

We understand that time for creating a sustainable vision is both limited and valuable. Therefore, we’d like to provide a concise overview of the top five trends we believe will define success in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector from now until 2030. These insights are based on our observations of clients, candidates, and emerging market trends. 

1. Patient-Centric Care Models

A recognizable shift towards patient-centered care is occurring in healthcare. Research shows that when doctors prioritize patients’ actual needs, it leads to more judicious use of healthcare services. This results in fewer unnecessary visits to practices or clinics, ultimately lowering costs for both routine check-ups and emergency care.

Technology is partially responsible for advancing this patient-centric trend. Medtronic, for example, is at the forefront of applying artificial intelligence (AI) to diabetes management. Their insulin delivery systems use AI to adjust insulin doses based on real-time glucose readings. This “hybrid closed loop” system has shown promising results: it helps patients with type 1 diabetes avoid extreme blood sugar highs and lows by delivering personalized, automated insulin doses. Medtronic reports that this smart technology is already improving the daily lives of many diabetes patients by reducing the burden of constant manual adjustments. 

Digital therapeutics (DTx) is also an excellent example of how technology is helping companies to put patients first. These smartphone apps and digital platforms offer therapy and guidance for managing medical conditions. Pear Therapeutics created an FDA-approved app for substance use disorders that showed promise in improving patient outcomes. This type of digital therapy could transform how patients handle recovery. It offered accessible, evidence-based support right from their smartphones. While Pear Therapeutics recently declared bankruptcy due to business challenges, their work proves the potential in this field. Other companies might build on this idea by focusing on solving reimbursement issues and proving value to insurers. 

Virtual reality (VR) is another technology that may aid this shift toward patient-centric care. A study found that VR therapy cut pain by up to 24% in hospital patients. It works by immersing patients in a 3D environment that engages their senses, distracting them from pain. Patients using VR reported feeling more present in the virtual world, making it harder for their brains to process pain signals. 

2. Artificial Intelligence and Analytics

Medtronic isn’t the only company that is investing in artificial intelligence. In fact, it is the buzzword on everyone’s mind these days, and for good reason. AI is not just about making things better or faster—it has the potential to completely reshape industries. And healthcare is no exception. 

In clinical settings, AI-powered tools are reducing the administrative burden on healthcare professionals. This allows them to spend more time on direct patient care and focus on things that truly matter. According to a Statista forecast, AI implementation will increase the time physicians spend treating patients from 50% to 67%. The future looks promising, and we may finally see much-needed relief for patients and their families. 

AI is also being used to repurpose existing drugs. In 2021, a study showed how AI identified an anti-cancer drug that might work for Alzheimer’s. That’s a connection human researchers hadn’t made before.  

But it gets better. At UC San Diego Health, they’re using AI to predict sepsis, and it has lowered mortality rates by 17%. Leveraging technology enables proactive diagnosis and amplifies impact on a larger scale. 

And it’s not all just theory anymore. Novartis is already using AI to speed up drug discovery and development. They’re bringing new treatments to market faster and designing more effective clinical trials. 

3. Multi-Omics and Precision Medicine

One of the key trends we identified is represented by Multi-Omics, a discipline that looks at different types of biological data—the genome, the transcriptome, the proteome, the metabolome, and more. Epigenetic studies also contribute to this field, examining how gene modifications in individuals affect gene expression and potential disease occurrence. Taken all together, the idea is to get a full picture of how your body works as a biological system. Precision medicine then uses this information to offer tailored treatments that are perfect for you, based on your unique biology. 

A recent study published in Oncogenesis is a good way to explain the convergence of multi-omics and precision medicine. This study looked at several different aspects of breast cancer cells: 

• The genes that were active (transcriptomics) 
• The proteins present (proteomics) 
• The chemicals produced by the cells (metabolomics) 

By combining all this information, the study identified three distinct groups of breast cancer patients. Each group showed different patterns in how they responded to treatment over time. 

This method of looking at multiple aspects of cancer cells worked better than traditional ways of categorizing breast cancers. It was more accurate in predicting how patients might fare in the long term. 

So, the way the study looked at breast cancer is an example of multi-omics, but the way that the information it uncovered can be utilized is precision medicine. 

And yes, some companies are already capitalizing on this trend. Illumina, for instance, is helping researchers spot genetic variations linked to diseases using multi-omics. As personal data becomes more important for developing truly personalized treatments, the potential of precision medicine continues to grow.

4. Cross-Functional Data Integration

Here’s a universal truth: information silos are never a good thing. They’re bad for business, bad for innovation, and in healthcare, they can be bad for patients. That’s why the future of healthcare is all about integrating data across different functions. 

This integration is enabling something called real-world evidence (RWE). In 2017, the FDA did something unprecedented—they approved a new procedure for a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) mostly on RWE instead of clinical trials. That’s a significant achievement. It could make procedure and drug development cheaper and faster, which is important for rare diseases where traditional trials are often a no-go. 

Roche is busy succeeding with this approach, too. They’re integrating data from research and clinical operations, which is helping them find potential drugs faster and run more efficient trials. 

5. Sustainability and ESG Initiatives

We can’t talk about the future without talking about sustainability. But in healthcare, it’s not just about going carbon neutral—it’s about rethinking everything. 

By 2030, “circular healthcare” will be the new hot topic. It involves designing medical equipment and even drugs for reuse or recycling. Philips is already doing this with medical imaging equipment. They’re refurbishing old machines instead of just replacing them. It’s good for the environment and saves hospitals money. 

In the pharmaceutical world, researchers are exploring “green chemistry” for drug manufacturing. In 2019, Merck won the EPA’s Green Chemistry Challenge Award for redesigning the manufacturing process of the antibiotic Zerbaxa. The “green chemistry” approach they used reduced the process mass index by 75% and the raw material costs by 50%. It also increased the overall yield by more than 50%. Merck’s new manufacturing process saved approximately 3.7 million gallons of water annually. It also reduced the carbon footprint of Zerbaxa’s production by 50% and lowered energy usage by 38%. 

In 2024, Merck won the EPA’s Green Chemistry Challenge Award again, this time for developing a “continuous process” for manufacturing Keytruda (pembrolizumab), an immunotherapy treatment. This process allows for continuous filtration of the protein from cells, rather than a one-time filtration at the end of a batch. The new method produces more pembrolizumab per reactor volume and has enabled the use of smaller equipment and reduced the facility’s physical footprint. Merck estimates this approach reduces energy consumption by about 78%, water use by 75%, and raw material usage by about 50%.  

The Future of Life Sciences and Healthcare Relies on Extraordinary Leadership

We’ve been aware of these trends for a while. They’ve been simmering, bubbling up. But by 2030, companies that want to stay competitive will need to embrace all five of these trends. It takes top leadership to drive these changes from the boardroom to the lab floor and subsequently to the patient.. 

So, what can executives do to become the leaders their companies need? Here are some ideas: 

• Explore AI-driven solutions but look beyond diagnosis, too.  
• Consider building patient-centric ecosystems by teaming up with digital therapeutics companies. It’s a great way to expand what you can offer patients. 
• Invest in multi-omics capabilities. While challenging, this approach is an exciting new frontier for understanding complex diseases and developing personalized prevention strategies. 
• Build systems that can handle and analyze real-world data.  
• Think circular. How can you design products for reuse? How can you make your manufacturing greener? 

The future of healthcare is promising, and executives who embrace these changes are poised to thrive. However, for those clinging to outdated practices, these emerging trends may prove to be a tough pill to swallow  

That’s why adaptability is going to be the most important skill for healthcare executives from now until 2030. It’s not about being the strongest—it’s about being able to change when you need to. After all, the tree that doesn’t bend will break. 

About the Authors

Divya Gautam, Partner at Stanton Chase Amsterdam, brings over 18 years of international experience to her role. She is deeply passionate about healthcare and life sciences leadership. Her expertise spans leadership advisory, business strategy, and scaling startups in healthcare innovation. Divya’s commitment to personalized nutrition and understanding of how DNA, gut health, and lifestyle influence well-being drive her work. She has tackled issues like childhood obesity and women’s health, drawing on her cross-cultural background and digital transformation skills. With a Bachelor’s degree in Technology and INSEAD executive certifications, Divya combines technical knowledge with a holistic approach to healthcare leadership.

Dietrich Hauffe, Ph.D. is a Partner at Stanton Chase Düsseldorf and Global Sector Leader for Life Sciences and Healthcare. With a doctorate in biochemistry and years of experience in biotech leadership, Dietrich specializes in executive searches for the analytical industry, biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and medical devices. His expertise extends to functional areas including marketing and sales, R&D, operations, and medical affairs. Having spent over a decade in the U.S.A. and Canada, Dietrich brings a truly international perspective to his work in the biotech industry.