{"id":81702,"date":"2025-01-21T20:20:39","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T19:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/?post_type=resources&p=81702"},"modified":"2026-03-23T16:31:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:31:27","slug":"a-plan-for-adopting-the-commercial-content-kernel-for-life-sciences","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/resources\/a-plan-for-adopting-the-commercial-content-kernel-for-life-sciences\/","title":{"rendered":"A Plan for Adopting the Commercial Content Kernel for Life Sciences"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commercial content managers have much to be excited about. The average days in review for content decreased by more than 25% to 16 days<\/a> at U.S. biopharmas last year. EU companies held steady in the metric compared to the prior year. The number of review cycles was down across all markets globally.<\/p>\n

Now, commercial teams seeking to sustain momentum as they produce more high-quality content faster can adopt a standard taxonomy called the Commercial Content Kernel for Life Sciences<\/a>. The content kernel is a practical solution to simplify content management and create efficiencies for stakeholders, especially MLR teams. It\u2019s also an important preparatory step for easier integrations, including adding AI applications.<\/p>\n

Read on to learn how the kernel establishes a common \u2018language\u2019 for the industry to classify and categorize commercial documents and data \u2014 and why it\u2019s the right time to standardize.<\/p>\n

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“Those who work in content understand that the ultimate goal for standardization is personalization, effectiveness, and the ability to measure \u2014 to give customers what they need when they need it.”<\/p>\n

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Christine Conley-Smith<\/h6>\n

Director, Creative & Content Management Operations, Roche\/Genentech<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Commercial Content Kernel\u2019s parent: Common Data Architecture<\/h2>\n

The Commercial Content Kernel \u2014 formerly the Commercial Content Taxonomy for Life Sciences \u2014 is part of the Common Data Architecture for Life Sciences (CDA)<\/a>. The CDA is a life-sciences-specific, open, and freely available standard for software applications, data products, and people. Its goal is to promote faster production and access to high-quality, relevant data and materials by enabling uniform data to flow cleanly between software systems and people.<\/p>\n

For example, when all stakeholders share a standard data language, integration and analytics projects could become faster to build, easier to maintain, and more accurate. When amplified across life sciences, such standardization could expedite patient treatment and help improve outcomes.<\/p>\n

CDA and the Commercial Content Kernel<\/h3>\n

CDA has multiple cascading data sets or \u2018kernels\u2019 designed to be small, easily understood, and easy to implement. Each data set, including the Commercial Content Kernel, consists of industry-standard definitions for a related group of entities, attributes, and drop-down lists. The content kernel\u2019s document types include articles, brochures, emails, presentations, press releases, videos, and more.<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/p>\n

The acute need for an industry-standard taxonomy<\/h2>\n

Efforts to standardize taxonomies in life sciences have stagnated in recent years, leading to increased complexity in companies and at the industry level. Biopharmas label millions of documents in all-encompassing categories such as \u201cpromotional piece,\u201d \u201cMLR,\u201d or \u201cother.\u201d Highly granular taxonomy models, on the other hand, result in 7,000 unused labels industry-wide. It\u2019s easy to find examples of unnecessarily complex classification. For instance, biopharmas use 68 ways to describe<\/a> an \u201celectronic detail aid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regulatory bodies also follow different approaches to document classification, and some authorities don\u2019t require a defined content type at all, leading to more inconsistencies. Absent a common global language to classify content, it will be increasingly difficult for companies to provide the content healthcare professionals (HCPs) need on behalf of patients. In addition, efforts to measure and improve content could suffer from inconsistent taxonomy.<\/p>\n

The roadblocks to standardization are unique to each biopharma, yet often include siloed departmental structures, resistance to change, and the challenges of developing a comprehensive taxonomy that addresses commercial content\u2019s diverse and changing nature. Until now, biopharmas had no option but to build their unique taxonomy.<\/p>\n

The document hierarchy in the Commercial Content Kernel is already defined, so teams get a head start. They access it within their typical workflows in ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ PromoMats<\/a>, facilitating fast decisions about how to label documents and data. MLR teams are clear on what asset types they\u2019re reviewing, which makes it easier to get the correct information to HCPs and patients faster. MLR teams that enjoy better review and approval processes will expedite compliant content to market.<\/p>\n

³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ created the open-source, industry-standard content kernel and supports it with videos, white papers, and other educational materials<\/a> to help rein in:<\/p>\n