We identified the five U.S. companies that have moved the farthest, the fastest in answering that call for change. These are the enterprises that are best positioned to redefine our future and point the way to a better tomorrow.
2. ABOUT iQ
iQ is the innovation lab of GSW
Worldwide. We research emerging
trends in both how technology and
expectations are changing.
We use those findings to develop
perspectives on how our health care
marketers can gain competitive
advantage in fast-changing areas
like mobile, slate, gaming, and
social media.
Then we model and build innovative
tools and experiences designed just
for health care marketers.
3. INNOVATION FROM EVERYWHERE
Two years ago, we started to see a new job title pop up all along
the corridor and at leading healthcare brands around the world:
chief innovation officer
This new role represented a fundamental shift in C-suite thinking:
no longer would innovation be just about products or
services. Today, innovation needs to come from everywhere – in
beakers, from warehouses, on spreadsheets, in marketing suites.
We identified the five U.S. companies that have moved the
farthest, the fasted in answering that call for change. These
are the enterprises that are best positioned to redefine our future
and point the way to a better tomorrow.
4. WHY IS THIS NEW CALL FOR
INNOVATION HAPPENING NOW?
CHALLENGES IN THE PIPELINE AND
COMMODITIZATION IN KEY CATEGORIES
The “patent cliff” has created a flashpoint for change – how can we build
value both in our products and around them?
ACCELERATION OF CHANGE CREATED BY THE DIGITAL
REVOLUTION
The rate and scale of disruption brought about by innovation has massively
accelerated
INNOVATION EXPERIENCE HAS BECOME THE NEW MBA
New generation of leaders has a much better understanding of the dynamics
of innovation, as well as the scale of the threats and opportunities it
presents
5. HOW WE CHOSE THE COMPANIES
We identified four key
ways that pharma
brands are learning CHAMPION CHALLENGE
from out-of-category Empower flag
Create a focus for
innovators and scored bearers of
what the
innovation in the
each company on their C-suite and
organization will do
and build rewards
investments and efforts throughout the
around the goal
organization
in each area. Not all of
these companies are
fully realizing the
benefits of their
investment in CHANGE
CREATE
innovation yet. Share successes
Develop a pipeline and learnings from
But, they are the of ideas, a process failures across
companies we think are for vetting them business units,
and start moving begin to see major
best positioned to them forward wins or cultural
win based on the change
cultures they’re
building.
7. 1 GILEAD
Gilead’s scientists have long been motivated by a single mission: advancing
treatments for life-threatening diseases. Increasing, much of the rest of the
organization is focused on an equally important one: Access for
professionals and patients around the world. Meeting that goal requires
innovation from all corners: distribution, marketing, policy, compliance,
skills training and more.
Best ats:
• The leadership is united in their focus – from the CEO to brand
managers
• They’ve defined goals for how the
company has to change the game
(ex. Reach 3 million HIV patients in
developing countries this year)
• And, created mini competitions
between brands to reward the best
innovations and cross pollinate thinking
8. 2 MILLENNIUM
Sometimes innovation that can’t happen in the macro culture,
happens in a micro one. Millennium, the Takeda Oncology company, has
just 1100 employees, but together they’ve taken on a massive challenge:
curing cancer.
The innovative difference is the culture they’ve been able to create.
In an industry known for hierarchy, Millennium fosters innovation by being
flat. Senior management is involved in the day-to-day, interruptive ideas are
quickly vetted, and each employee’s MBOs are connected to the overall
change the company wants to make in the world.
Best ats:
• Big expectations: Millennium is the center
of excellence in a global organization
• Constant connection to the patients they
serve through patient opinion leaders and
company-wide events
• A proven commitment
to entrepreneurship
9. 3 GENENTECH
Genentech is the Google of the pharma space. It invests in its people
(retention pay + fantastic on-site perks) and encourages free thinking in the
lab. These hallmarks have consistently won Genetech “best place to work”
awards, but they’ve also cemented the value equation around big
thinking and invention in leadership.
Even while integrating with Roche’s culture,
Genentech maintained its investment in
innovation and even extended it far beyond the
lab.
Best ats:
• Put a premium on curiosity and creativity
• Have a constant influx of new ideas through a unique post doctoral
program that keeps young people with different backgrounds and
technologies moving through Genentech
• A broad range of social tools that connect people across disciplines
and make innovation everyone’s responsibility
10. 4 PFIZER
Pfizer may have struggles in its pipeline, but it’s thinking big about innovation in
distribution, sales and marketing, pricing and patient support. The most
important step Pfizer has taken is recognizing and correcting the internal
barriers it created to innovation – namely micro management and mergers.
Individual thinking was greatly limited by both carefully defined guardrails and
organizational upheaval.
To infuse innovation in the culture, Pfizer
knew it needed a new kind of leader–one
who could inspire open thinking through open
conversation. Enter Joe Shields, Director of
Worldwide Innovation at Pfizer, who is charged
with entirely recasting Pfizer’s role in healthcare.
Best ats:
• Setting new kinds of metrics that power innovation
• Thinking about the role of culture in sustaining innovation
• Being an early mover in segmentation: customizing experiences and
content for meaningful niches instead of running to the middle
11. 5 AMGEN
Amgen may be the surprise of this list. It’s maturation this year – highlighted by
its first dividend payment this April – has led many to call it an old man in a
young man’s world, a company that’s graduating from true bio tech to big
pharma.
You wouldn’t know it on the ground though. Individual teams – from legal to
marketing to distribution – are expected to find better ways, moments of
invention around the way people live and work.
Best ats:
• Partnering with their Foundation to look for
solutions beyond their own walls through
unique crowdsourcing initiatives
• Bringing everyone – from the execs to the
investors – into their science story
• Being willing to fail fast to make a difference
(this year, the marketing teams piloted everything
from iPads to remote detailing to find the tools
that make the biggest difference)