Adviser and Business Mentor to Bioscience SMEs and Startups
As six months have now elapsed since its initial publication in the peer-reviewed journal Research-Technology Management (RTM), we reproduce here the full text of the paper authored by myself and Timo Lotta. This paper documents a comprehensive case study of how Orion Pharma’s R&D organization was transformed to implement a results-oriented “open R&D” model through proactive culture change.
Continue reading “Creating a Culture of Productivity and Collaborative Innovation”
Partnering assets with large pharmaceutical, diagnostic or medical device multinationals is a critical part of the business model for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the life sciences. But does it make sense for an SME to have a clearly defined partnering strategy or should it be opportunistic?
Continue reading “Strategic Asset Partnering for Bioscience SMEs—Planned or Opportunistic?”
Timo Lotta and I are pleased to announce the publication of our paper in the peer-reviewed journal Research-Technology Management (RTM) . This paper documents a comprehensive case study of how Orion Pharma’s R&D organization was transformed to implement a results-oriented “open R&D” model through proactive culture change
Continue reading “R&D Productivity and Culture Change Paper”
Initiatives to cultivate innovation are rapidly proliferating. From my regular dialogue with Marketing and R&D executives of science/technology-based organizations, I notice many initiatives are built on at least one of these underlying assumptions:
Per se, these assumptions are perfectly good starting points – the mistake is to believe that’s all you have to focus on.
Continue reading “Common Misconceptions in Strategic Innovation Initiatives”
The BioPharma industry is in the midst of disruptive renewal. Executives and managers need to be Change Leaders. But leading change in BioPharma involves some additional challenges.
Continue reading “Why being a Change Leader in BioPharma is different”
Throughout the past two decades, biomedical companies have learnt painfully that industrialized management of R&D does not deliver. Using illustrations from the pharmaceutical sector, this article looks back on the principal approaches that were adopted to transform R&D productivity over this period. We reflect on what has definitely not worked well, and in consequence, we discuss how the emphasis is now shifting back to people, relying on human ingenuity and teamwork to innovate – through focus and an open architecture. We conclude by identifying the key success factors and the new challenges that R&D leaders need to manage.
Continue reading “Two Decades of Biomedical R&D Improvement Initiatives”
Whether driven by pre-emptive thinking or business pressures, many scientific and technical organizations need to raise their game. Under the banner of contemporary catchphrases such as “open innovation”, “customer centric product development”, “strategic outsourcing”, “customer partnering” and “R&D transformation”, such organizations have been striving to initiate change programs for achieving the same two age-old aims:
Continue reading “Igniting Sustainable Change in Scientific & Technical Organizations”
Robert Thong 