Pharmaceutical companies should consider Finland when evaluating locations for Real-World Evidence (RWE) studies. The country boasts numerous strengths that make it an outstanding choice for real-world data-based (RWD) research.
“Finland’s strong tradition and extensive experience in utilizing healthcare registries for research make it unique,” says Dr. Riikka Mattila, Scientific Advisor at Medaffcon.
Finland implemented The Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data in 2019. This Act enables using social and healthcare data for research purposes and sets guidelines for using social and healthcare registers.
The 2019 Act was the first of its kind in Europe and serves as a benchmark for the European Commission’s upcoming European Health Data Space (EHDS) legislation.
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) legislation’s aim is to facilitate the utilization of health data across the European Union (EU) and the integration of datasets on an EU-wide scale. Dr. Riikka Mattila, Scientific Advisor at Medaffcon has contributed her expertise in Finnish Sitra‘s (Future Fund) European Health Data Space (EHDS) project.
Dr. Mattila notes that international clients are often impressed with the ability to link data between all Finnish health and social registries with the Finnish personal identity code, which was introduced in Finland in the 1960s.
A code issued to a person who is registered in Finland’s Population Information System is used to identify persons in the registers and information systems of different authorities and in data communications between them.
“These codes are a tremendous asset for research. They enable the integration of data from multiple registers, including electronic health records and reimbursement registers, which can be linked to other information such as occupation, education, and socioeconomic status,” explains Dr. Riikka Mattila, Scientific Advisor at Medaffcon.
These codes also facilitate including relatives’ information.
“For instance, a mother´s health records during a pregnancy can be linked to the baby’s health records. It is also possible to study siblings or include them as controls,” adds Dr. Mattila.
Finnish data are comprehensive:
Nearly all specialized healthcare data in Finland are digitally available. Some may question whether the data from Finland’s population of 5.6 million can meet the pharmaceutical industry’s needs. Nevertheless, Finland often provides more extensive research data than larger European countries, even for rare diseases.
“Researchers have access to diverse information, ranging from the level of detailed clinical data, such as hospital medications and pathological findings, to extensive national registers,” states Dr. Riikka Mattila, Scientific Advisor at Medaffcon.
Most data are available on an opt-out basis; they can be utilized unless a patient explicitly denies consent.
“Only a very small percentage of patients opt out of the use of their data for research,” adds Dr. Mattila.
A significant benefit for pharmaceutical companies is that processing time for digital real-world data (RWD) is typically considerably faster than manual extraction.
Finnish hospital data lakes are rich in information. Data lakes contain data from publicly funded specialized healthcare organizations. It ensures a broader patient population compared to insurance-based healthcare systems.
Data lakes offer researchers access to almost all data collected in hospital IT systems, including genetic test results, information on hospital medications, prescriptions, pathology results, radiology results and images, as well as monitoring data from intensive care. Information from hospital data lakes can be linked to biobank samples.
Researchers can obtain real-world data (RWD) from hospital data lakes for research purposes within a few months’ time between requesting data and receiving it.
Finnish clinicians generally have a positive view of using healthcare data in pharmaceutical research.
“They gain valuable insights into their patients and treatment outcomes,” concludes Dr. Riikka Mattila, Scientific Advisor at Medaffcon.
“Medaffcon has extensive expertise in Real-World Evidence (RWE) research in Finland. It has a deep understanding of the pharmaceutical industry’s needs, and exceptional understanding of Finnish healthcare data.”
Petri Määttä, Sr. Consultant
More details:
Medaffcon has in-depth Understanding of the Needs of the Pharmaceutical Industry – Medaffcon
Finnish health data mirror the entire patient pathway – Medaffcon
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Scientific Advisor
PhD
Riikka joined Medaffcon in February 2021. She has a wide-ranging experience from different therapy areas from atherosclerosis and birth asphyxia to neurodegeneration. She has more than 15 years of experience in research, three of which in Max Planck Institute in Germany. Her PhD thesis from 2011 focused on cholesterol metabolism.
Riikka’s strenghts include broad know-how and interest in diverse therapy areas, as well as enthusiasm and experience in both written and verbal scientific communication. At Medaffcon she enjoys varied projects and effectiveness of research.
Real world evidence fascinates Riikka because there is so much data, and more accumulating all the time, and most of this data is unused. There is potential for findings to support clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as alleviate the lives of patients. She is also happy that decisions in health care are increasingly evidence based.
Sr. Consultant
BBA
+358 40 355 6111
petri.maatta@medaffcon.fi
Petri joined Medaffcon in 2022 as a consultant. Petri holds extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry especially in Market Access, sales and marketing. Before joining Medaffcon Petri worked in various managerial roles in the pharmaceutical industry which has provided him with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the field. Petri conducted his BBA studies in the Netherlands and Finland providing him with a great basis to work in international organizations.
Petri’s extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and his background in business equip him with a unique perspective in the field of Life Science and commercialization of medicines in Finland. His main focus is on helping companies bring Life Science innovations and services to the Finnish market. Petri’s expertise in Market Access, sales and marketing as well as his deep understanding of the pharmaceutical industry provide Medaffcon’s team with valuable information as they provide customer solutions.
“Resource challenges alongside technological development and digitalization provide considerable opportunities to enhance healthcare in Finland. As data collection and digitalization develop, the effectiveness of health technologies can be demonstrated more precisely. While advanced health technologies and medicine offer more effective treatments, bringing them to the market require special know-how and understanding. Thus, companies, the research sector and governmental agencies should continue to further co-operation in effectively bringing health technologies and medicines to the market while simultaneously managing resource allocation in a rational manner.”
Sr. Scientific Advisor
RWE Lead
PhD
+358 50 345 2393
mariann.lassenius@medaffcon.fi
Mariann joined Medaffcon’s team in 2016 after finishing her PhD. The transition to real world evidence (RWE) research was a natural continuum to her previous research career. Through RWE studies, she has had the privilege to gain a broad insight into working with different stakeholders within the healthcare field. The vast proportion of her days goes towards interacting with clients, planning and performing RWE studies, and supporting Medaffcon’s RWE team. Subjects that keep her work interesting are the vast variability of customers and projects, problem-solving, and interacting with people.
“The number of RWE studies has increased since stakeholders within the healthcare industry have an increasing demand for knowledge-based decision making tools that need to be fulfilled. The future, therefore, has an ever-increasing emphasis on RWE”.
Biostatistician
Data Analysis Lead
MSc (Tech.)
+358 44 314 1597
iiro.toppila@medaffcon.fi
Iiro joined Medaffcon in March 2017 as a Biostatistician. For the preceding four years, he has worked as a research assistant in an academic study group, analyzing clinical and genetic patient data. Iiro holds a Master of Science degree in Technology in Bioinformation Technology.
Iiro’s strengths include his strong expertise in statistics and data-analysis, hands-on experience in working with sensitive patient data, and strong interdisciplinary communication skills with experts from various fields. In the field, he is particularly interested in the large data amounts made available with the revolution of technology and how the information received such data can potentially be utilized to draw concrete conclusions, both in order to understand the nature of diseases and to advance the goals of the pharmaceutical industry and patient treatment.
“Machine learning and AI-based solutions will have a major impact on the healthcare sector now and in the future. However, effectively utilizing the already collected and available health-data will have a higher importance in order to improve health-care”.