Deloitte’s latest RWE benchmarking survey highlights biopharma’s next steps in real-world evidence

The latest benchmarking survey from Deloitte reveals biopharma’s growing reliance on real-world evidence (RWE) and anticipates a transformative role for generative AI, while underscoring persistent challenges in measuring return on investment.

The biopharma sector is entering a decisive phase in its use of real-world evidence (RWE), according to Deloitte’s 2025 RWE Benchmark Survey. Released this week, the fifth edition of the report underscores a growing consensus among senior executives: RWE has become a strategic priority. Nearly all respondents (96%) plan to increase investment in real-world data and evidence (RWD/E) over the next 2–3 years, underlining its growing importance in organizational strategy.

Based on responses from 25 global biopharma leaders surveyed between November and December 2024, the report tracks evolving trends in RWE adoption, investment priorities, and the integration of AI.

The findings reflect the maturation of RWE into an embedded capability across the biopharma value chain. Of the C-suite leaders surveyed, 40% now consistently discuss RWD/E within their organizations. At the same time, the range of data sources being utilized has expanded well beyond traditional electronic health records and claims data. Companies are increasingly seeking more comprehensive, longitudinal views of patient experiences, as well as diverse RWD types such as genomics, digital health and wearables, patient-generated health data, and social determinants of health (SDOH).

Critical capabilities highlighted in the report include RWE study management systems to track and manage evidence generation from concept to impact, advanced analytics and generative AI (GenAI) to enhance data interpretation, secure data linkage through tokenization, and knowledge management platforms to catalogue and retrieve RWE outputs.

While previous benchmarking reports focused on building foundational capabilities, this year’s edition emphasizes the need for more robust frameworks to measure return on investment (ROI). Many organizations continue to face challenges in linking RWE investments to measurable business outcomes. Fragmented systems, inconsistent tracking of downstream results, and a lack of standardized methodologies are key barriers. Suggested approaches to address these issues include creating systems to monitor intended versus actual RWE use, aligning on key performance indicators (KPIs), and developing value frameworks that map RWE impact across the drug development and commercialization lifecycle.

GenAI also emerges as a key theme in the 2025 report. Of the respondents, 80% believe that GenAI will significantly reshape evidence generation within the next 12 months, enabling faster data analysis, literature summarization, and drafting of study outputs. Early adopters are already integrating GenAI into their workflows, upskilling teams, and investing in infrastructure to scale its use.

However, adoption is not without challenges. Data privacy and security concerns (27%), a shortage of hybrid expertise combining RWE and AI skills (25%), and regulatory uncertainty (23%) remain significant hurdles.

To navigate this evolving landscape, Deloitte recommends that biopharma organizations develop strategic blueprints for scaling GenAI in RWE. This includes defining clear ambitions, anchoring investments to specific goals, and leveraging existing platforms to support scalability. Incorporating highly tuned, RWE-specific models into GenAI ecosystems and avoiding point solutions will further strengthen these efforts. Systematically measuring outcomes and ROI, while embedding trust, transparency, and ethical practices into workflows, is also essential. Building GenAI fluency through targeted training and tools will help teams embed these capabilities effectively at scale.