The life sciences industry faces an unprecedented number of challenges led by concerns about escalating healthcare costs. With a consolidating payer base increasingly driving healthcare decision-making, more evidence of both safety and effectiveness is required than randomized clinical trials (RCTs) — the familiar “gold standard” — can offer.

Against this background, real world evidence is an increasingly significant element of the clinical and health economic research agenda. It’s an important tool to understand performance throughout a product’s lifecycle, including adverse events. We spoke with members of the medical device and diagnostics industry, who shared how increasing demands for real world evidence are impacting their business.