4 min readInnovation is rare in the pharmaceutical industry. It is invention’s evolution, and it’s more important. Innovation’s potential to differentiate offers a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, successful innovation that creates value is almost as rare as invention. Most attempts fail.
Innovation and invention are two related but distinct concepts. Invention is bringing ideas or technologies together in a novel way that did not exist before — for example, the discovery of antibiotics by Alexander Fleming in 1928.
Innovation, on the other hand, is the creation of meaningful value from an invention. For example, precision medicine innovates the invention of antibiotics by optimizing efficiency. Treatment is based on a patient’s specific infection and characteristics.
Both are important, and often go hand in hand, with innovation building on earlier inventions and leading to new ones.
A COMPETITIVE EDGE
Companies that do not innovate risk being left behind by their competitors. It needs to be part of your culture. Innovation needs to happen across the value chain. It becomes harder to copy if it happens in more than one place.
THE ELUSIVE NATURE OF INNOVATION
Despite good intentions, innovation often fails. A recent report found that 40%-90% of innovation projects fail either completely or partly. In addition, over 80% of executives say that innovation is among their top three priorities, yet less than 10% report being satisfied with their company’s innovation performance. That’s quite a mismatch.
Here are five reasons why innovation often fails in pharma and steps companies can take to overcome the challenges:
COMMIT TO DIGITAL INNOVATION
Innovation is not a transient exercise. The competitive advantage digital innovation offers pharmaceutical companies is comprehensive and systematic.
For example, many pharmaceutical companies have embraced an omnichannel approach to maintain patient centricity across the value chain. They’ve discovered that successful implementation requires an innovative mindset.
“Digital transformation is not a destination,” observes Antonije Baturan. “It’s not a pinnacle at the top of a mountain. It does not bring a competitive advantage on its own. This is a process, a long walk along the digital maturity rugged slope reaching a plateau with changed market dynamics — a new environment where means are democratized and disruption is normative, arriving with higher frequency, velocity, and complexity. To thrive in this new environment, companies must invest in their business future systematically via strategic, comprehensive, and sustainable innovation at scale.”
CHOOSE AN INNOVATIVE PARTNER
Pharma companies that invest in technology, processes, and partnerships overcome these challenges. Partnerships, in particular, foster and accelerate the innovation cycle.
As an expert in digital transformation, SoftServe was recently invited to a workshop at Reuters Pharma USA 2023 to speak about our approach to enabling a patient-centric innovation culture. Our team offered actionable steps that transform isolated innovation efforts into a continuous, scalable, cross-organizational process.
Steve LoSardo, Vice President of Life Science Solutions and Consulting at SoftServe, reflects on the success of the workshop, "The energy and enthusiasm in the room were remarkable. The attendees worked together to generate 30 innovative ideas that focused on a crucial aspect of the patient's journey — the onset of symptoms."
SoftServe streamlines the innovation process for enterprises across the value chain. As your partner, we help you become cohesive, flexible, comprehensive, and transparent. We establish a framework that enables a culture of innovation. The result is a collaborative environment supported by resource alignment and stakeholder buy-in.
Our client-centric approach begins with your business goals in mind. The innovation workshop can be tailored to your specific business needs.
Leapfrog legacy thinking and pitfalls. Register for your innovation workshop today.