Pharma Bio World, India: Cognizant’s Life Sciences Leaders Say True Innovation to Address Unmet Medical Needs is Key to the Industry’s Revival
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Ram Meenakshisundaram and Rajesh Kuppuswamy of Cognizant |
“The life sciences industry is passing through a period of inflexion,” write Cognizant’s Ram Meenakshisundaram, Senior Vice President and Global Delivery Head of Life Sciences, and Rajesh Kuppuswamy, Senior Director of Life Sciences Consulting. “Companies of all stripes need to find a way to survive. Only those companies that remain relevant can benefit when the industry stabilizes on a clear path to consistent growth.” Excerpts:
“Unless true innovation to address unmet medical needs becomes a reality, the industry’s revival is likely to be, at best, uneven. The nascence of personalized or targeted medicine indicates that the understanding of progression pathways of complex and life-threatening diseases is still evolving. The industry is fortunate that the fundamental research required to break the innovation barrier and elucidate disease progression pathways is heavily externalized through university programs, private- and government-supported research institutions, or even through other relatively newer entrants into the life sciences space. This enables the core life sciences companies to focus on sustenance in a very competitive environment.
The life sciences industry today faces significant challenges around regulations, operating models, and stakeholder preferences and influences. Several companies are in the midst of an identity crisis, uncertain about what they really stand for and where they want to go.
This is further complicated by blurring boundaries between, for example, healthcare and life sciences. There is growing influence of regulatory guidelines and mandates on the supply chain and sales. Catering to multiple stakeholders through channels of their preference can become a key differentiator in marketing. This requires the adoption of new technology as well as deeper analysis of stakeholder preferences. Clearly, survival is going to be about a comprehensive strategy that spans all functions and, at times, extends beyond the life sciences industry.
Though companies must continually demonstrate the agility and flexibility to adapt, they should also be clear about their core identity. What is core identity and how can companies define it? It all begins with defining what success or value means to the company. Value may not immediately translate into revenue, but will surely become an asset over time. Compliance and adherence to quality is one such value, which may, in fact, become a key differentiator in the generics industry, even allowing companies to charge a premium. Identifying synergies and co-creation is another example of value.
In fact, optimal utilization of available resources within and outside the core life sciences industry to enhance patients’ quality of life could be the single most virtuous value. Value, when pursued with rigor and single-minded focus, can over time become the company’s niche.
A company’s identity will eventually be shaped through execution. The operating model for optimal execution may entail making some tough choices and bold decisions, such as building new partnerships, overhauling internal resourcing and operations, decentralizing power centers, and providing visibility and empowerment at every level for swifter decision-making and communication. To keep the operating model from obsolescence, it must be fungible and molded in step with evolving needs.”
Click below to read the article, originally published in the December 2016 issue of Pharma Bio World.
