From insight to impact: a qualitative study on pharmaceutical industry professionals' perceptions of the value of patient engagement.

Introduction: Patient engagement (PE) is increasingly recognised as a critical component of clinical research and pharmaceutical development. However, its implementation remains inconsistent, and evidence of its impact limited.

Objectives: This study explored pharmaceutical professionals' perspectives on the value, challenges, and facilitators of PE in medicine development.

Methods: Twenty-eight industry professionals from Europe and North America were interviewed online (November 2023-May 2024). Data were analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: The result showed that while PE is acknowledged for its potential in enhancing trial design, patient recruitment and retention, enhancing data quality, regulatory success and market access - the evidence demonstrating its impact in these areas are still limited. Key challenges highlighted were the lack of standardised ways for assessing PE's value, limited access to patient organisations in some regions, and disparities in regulatory requirements that complicate global adoption. Additionally, practical barriers - such as time, resource constraints, and cultural differences, hinder the implementation of consistent and meaningful engagement practices. The study also identified a number of potential enablers for creating systematic and consistent PE: the use of digital tools, cost-effective engagement methods, culturally sensitive communication approaches, partnerships with patient advocacy groups and the establishment of PE as a recognised scientific discipline.

Conclusion: This research emphasised the need for robust methodologies and standardized PE practices to demonstrate return on engagement and its contribution to successful development of innovative medicines.