“Reductionism can expand our vision and give us new insights into the nature and creation of art. These new insights will enable us to perceive unexpected aspects of art that derive from the relationships between the biological and psychological phenomena.”
-- Dr. Eric R. Kandel, 2000 Nobel laureate in medicine
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in insights. One example was the revelation that anti-cancer therapies such as Herceptin can target a specific protein, as opposed to all actively dividing cells. Like a catalyst for knowledge, insights can accelerate the sense-making process, so you learn faster and can apply this knowledge to actionable, evolutionary steps.
In 2012, we developed a software application which delivered insights for technology companies. With a presence in six countries, our customers included 23andMe, LinkedIn and Tribune.
In 2014, our spouses suggested that we develop an application for Medical Affairs (my wife works in Medical Affairs at a large pharmaceutical company and my co-founder’s wife works in pediatric oncology at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford University). Our spouses believed there was an unmet need within Medical Affairs for custom applications.
Since we had little experience in pharmaceuticals, we conducted interviews to research how Medical Affairs delivers value to the organization. After speaking with Abbvie, Genentech, Novartis and others, we learned:
- Medical Affairs teams typically use CRM systems to collect medical insights
- Teams find it difficult to stay up-to-date on current research and trends
- MSLs find it challenging to demonstrate the value of field intelligence
In September, a director of MSL field operations shared this insight:
“At the moment, our only option is CRM which was designed for Commercial. But we’re not salespeople, we’re scientists…and we need a better way to showcase the value of Medical Affairs.”
As a result, we decided to focus exclusively on Medical Affairs. In June, we found our first customer, a multinational company in Japan. In July, we found our second customer, a midsize company in California. In each case, our customers had been seeking a solution like kernel for years.
Today, we’re delighted to announce that kernel is now live. With two customers and four on our waiting list, we’ve made a good start. However, this is only the beginning as we intend to improve kernel further. So when we share new product ideas with you, it comes from a sincere desire for your feedback. Our goal is to build a valuable application that you love.