Be Disruptive or Be Disrupted.

Across big pharma, innovation has become a strategic cornerstone of a command-and-control business model that is under attack. It has largely focused on sustaining that model through innovation in research and discovery, manufacturing and distribution of product. And while pharma innovation must translate into commercially viable products, it must also recognise that the sea change towards affordable, accountable and accessible care demands innovation that is not just sustaining but disruptive.

The molecule-centric model of pharma innovation is out of step with the growing trend toward patient-centric care. It relies on the principle that product – blockbuster or incremental – has and will remain the recipe for continued corporate prosperity. It’s a sustaining strategy, and as illustrated below, sustainable innovation is based on the familiar – the steady state of play. It relies on existing technological competencies and conforms to an existing business model and customer base.