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Pharma’s direct-to-consumer platforms are having a moment in 2025. 

Building off the debut of Eli Lilly’s LillyDirect and Pfizer’s PfizerForAll offerings, Novo Nordisk unveiled NovoCare earlier this year.

News of the Danish drugmaker’s proprietary platform for offering medicines at lower prices was shortly followed by word that LillyDirect would fold Alzheimer’s care options into its services. 

These efforts by drugmakers to directly connect with consumers also serve as an opportunity to ease the historically challenged perception the pharmaceutical industry has garnered over time. 

However, despite these well-intentioned, heavily-invested efforts, the industry still has a long way to go, according to a recent study from Ixlayer.

The report found that patients are looking for drugmakers to provide a seamless customer journey on their DTC platforms. 

Specifically, 92% of respondents said their perception of the industry would improve if companies offered one of a number of digital health solutions.

These include the ability to consult with physicians virtually or in person, acceptance of insurance coverage, options for sharing health data, easier access for lab result testing or providing digital pharmacy options like online pharmacy orders. 

Currently, most of the DTC platforms house resources about their products and certain disease states for patients, but patients cannot access physician consultations directly on the platform. 

For instance, LillyDirect leads customers to a number of independent telehealth service platforms for physician access. While drugmakers do this to maintain neutrality in offering access to physicians, patients say they expect a more seamless experience. 

“There is a disconnect where patients still do not recognize what pharma is trying to do, or they’re not able to access what pharma is doing in the way that’s convenient and seamless,” said Debra Harris, Ixlayer’s head of marketing. 

Digital solutions experts say pharma’s potential solution to this conundrum is two-fold: the industry has to invest more in the digital experience for customers and improve communications about the offerings they have. 

Better DTC services 

One of the biggest disconnects between DTC platforms and patients is that the latter group feels it is challenging to navigate some of these digital platforms. 

Half of respondents complained of having to use multiple platforms in order to access care for one service and feel burdened with the number of choices they have. 

However, integrating all services into one platform like retail or telehealth companies do is not something drugmakers are likely to achieve anytime soon — particularly due to regulatory challenges. 

“It is important for pharma to have some distance between the products they offer for patients to access consultations to show that there is no influence from pharma,” said Matt Walsh, general manager of Ixlayer. 

While that may not be the easiest fix to meet consumer expectations, drugmakers can employ certain strategies to make the experience more seamless for patients to navigate. 

According to Walsh, one of the biggest pain points in the patient journey is when they have to choose between the different independent providers listed on the DTC platform. 

“Pharma can be better about providing patients with the choice between seeing one clinician network and another clinician network,” said Walsh. 

He suggested that pharma companies partner with independent third-party service platforms — which already support telehealth companies — to create landing pages that help customers identify the differences between services. 

The study also indicated that patients are looking for more options for easier access to diagnostic services. 

Nearly 80% of respondents said their perception of pharma would improve if they had easier access to lab testing or at-home kits. 

Securing health data is another key concern for patients, as more than 75% of respondents said they want pharma to help them share lab information with their doctors virtually. 

Harris said drugmakers can again look at collaborative opportunities with independent providers to bring these capabilities to their nascent platforms.

“They can also invest more in working with providers or platforms where patients can upload their information easily to share with their doctor or pharmacy digitally, as that process is normally quite complex,” Harris said.

Marketing gaps in DTC

The fact that pharma companies are investing in DTC platforms in the first place is a sign that the industry recognizes the value of establishing a relationship between the patient and the brand. 

However, many patients are still not aware of these platforms or the resources offered through them. 

When asked about what pharma can do to increase communication and boost engagement, many survey respondents said these companies need to raise awareness of their initiatives. 

Harris suggested pharma should be “a little bit more outspoken” with some of the more altruistic efforts they have going on.

She added that unbranded point-of-care marketing campaigns raising awareness about a disease state is an effective way for pharma to bridge the gap between patients and their awareness of offerings on DTC platforms. 

“Pharma does well when they invest their time and energy into amazing creatives,” said Harris. “What unbranded campaigns do is close the loop on that marketing so that patients go to the website beyond just downloading a discussion guide or talking to their doctor.”

She also added that point-of-care marketing allows patients to access information from an independent medical professional, which helps patients feel like they are getting information from a neutral source. 

Patients are also open to pharma brands assisting them with scheduling and managing their care. Harris suggested that these companies highlight these kinds of services in their marketing, which would help patients understand what these companies have to offer. 

“Pharma brands can invest more in developing easy-to-go actionable materials that patients can use as a call to action after speaking with their doctor,” said Harris. “These are effective at creating actions.”