With the launch in Germany of Alkindi, Diurnal has kickstarted its plan of offering therapies that treat patients with cortisol deficiency diseases from birth right the way through to old age and the market is potentially a very lucrative one.

Two potential orphan drugs developed by the UK's newly public endocrinology speciality company, Diurnal Group, are in Phase III clinical trials, and the first of these, Infacort (immediate-release hydrocortisone) for pediatric patients with insufficient levels of the chemically-related essential hormone cortisol, could be approved in its first markets within 18 months, by the end of 2017.

Mapping the patient journey uncovers a wealth of insights into care, diagnosis and intervention. The onset of advanced analytics tools and sensors now augment the pharma industry’s understanding of the challenges of traversing health care systems. Layering AI into the mapping process not only has the power to provide insights into the current clinical pathway, it can be used to predict and intervene in clinical care.