Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) today released 2021 industry-wide Veeva Pulse data that shows the continued growth of digital engagement across the Asia Pacific* life sciences industry. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital communication between biopharmas and healthcare professionals (HCPs) has steadily increased in this region. From March 2020 to August 2021, Veeva customers increased rep-sent emails by 295 percent while maintaining high open rates at 41 percent.

"COVID-19 has accelerated the shift to digital," said Shafi Hussain, Asia business consulting lead, Veeva Systems. "We've seen evolving requirements and changing preferences for the ways that HCPs want to engage with field reps."

"Key, useful messages prompt HCPs to read emails, and we anticipate this level of digital engagement will remain strong with relevant content," Hussain continued. "Establishing a strong digital presence as well as keeping on top of evolving channel innovation will help companies to find new ways of differentiating themselves."

More emails sent, higher open rates and increased meetings

Measuring APAC customer engagement, Veeva Pulse monitors email volume of activity and open rates: 

• Field reps now send 295% more emails to HCPs than at the initial onset of COVID-19 and open rates remain high at 41 percent 
• Despite the vaccine rollout and some markets resuming face-to-face interactions, more reps and HCPs continue to move towards remote meetings and digital

Similarly, the remote meeting volume has increased since pre-COVID:

• In Q1 2020, life sciences companies held 7,728 remote meetings across APAC
• In Q2 2020, this rose to 134,741, and by Q2 2021, the figures were at 259,459
• In Q3 2021, the number of remote meetings across the region jumped to 332,881 - a significant increase from the pre-COVID figure of 7,728
• In Q4 2021, there was a reduction of remote meetings to 289,511 as a result of some face-to-face interactions returning but these numbers remain high in comparison with Q1 2020