Reimagining Healthcare Through Open Innovation

In healthcare, business, and technology, open innovation is a type of innovation that has emerged not merely as a trend but as a transformative force reshaping the very landscape of how organizations innovate.

Crucial to the success of open innovation is the integration of a well-crafted innovation strategy. This strategy ensures that the organization’s creative endeavors are purposeful, strategic, and aligned with long-term success with a strong innovation culture within the innovation process.

Creativity vs Innovation

Creativity is thinking new things; innovation is doing new things or doing old things in a new way, developing a new idea putting it into practice.

“Innovation is the transformation of an idea into a tradable product or service, a new manufacturing or distribution process, or a new way of providing service” - OECD, Frascati Manual

Why Innovate?

Applied to health, innovation has a wide range of meanings.

Health innovation includes innovations in healthcare, as well as innovations to prevent illness and promote health & well-being. It might take the form of new products, services, processes, organizations, or policies. It often involves several of these simultaneously.

Successfully launching a new technological innovation, for example, might require developing complementary technologies, new business models, new processes, new roles for patients & clinicians, or policy changes.

How Important is Open Innovation "OI"?

By embracing OI, businesses not only enhance their customer-centricity but also actively contribute to the cultivation of innovation ecosystems, fostering continuous learning and enhancing idea generation.

If you are looking to adopt an?open innovation?strategy?

Here are four key types of?open innovation?models:

Established health innovation systems certainly produce a lot of innovations: in 2013, globally 124,000 patents were filed in the fields of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology alone. Nevertheless, there are some well-documented problems with dominant models of health innovation:

1. Inefficiency: Health innovation is often inefficient in several ways. It may be slow, expensive, or poorly targeted as it does not always address the areas that have been identified as a high priority yet it's Poorly adopted & diffused.
2. Gaps in understanding of needs: Inventors may not truly understand the needs of clinicians, or may not have access to the information and data required to best meet them. By the same token, even innovations developed by experienced clinicians may suffer from a failure to address key patient needs that are sometimes obscured from a clinical perspective.
3. Dominated by professionals: Patients, members of the public, or people working in non-health sectors have found it harder to get their ideas into the system. As a result, health innovations may fail to address the priorities of citizens.

Open Innovation Examples

To illustrate the impact of open innovation, let’s explore innovation examples from leading companies that have embraced this approach:

• Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble has a rich history of open innovation. P&G actively seeks external input through partnerships, joint ventures, and collaboration with academic institutions. This strategy has led to breakthrough innovations in product development and marketing, reinforcing P&G‘s position as an industry leader.

• Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD)

OSDD is an initiative by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in India. It leverages collaborative research and open-access databases to find new treatments for neglected diseases like tuberculosis. Scientists, researchers, and institutions worldwide contribute their knowledge, data, and findings to collectively advance drug discovery efforts, bypassing traditional, proprietary research models.

• PatientsLikeMe

Is an online patient network that allows individuals with various diseases and conditions to share their experiences, treatment plans, and outcomes. This open innovation platform not only provides valuable real-world data to researchers and healthcare professionals but also empowers patients by giving them access to information and support from peers, fostering a collaborative approach to managing health and advancing medical research.

How to Apply?Open Innovation?in Business Innovation Process?

Open Innovation vs Closed Innovation:

How to Choose the Right Model for Your Business?

Open and closed innovation primarily differ in the way innovation is generated. Closed innovation companies operate within a self-contained innovative environment, whereas open innovation companies actively source external knowledge as a core element of their innovation management strategies.

Making the right choice between?open innovation & closed innovation?involves a thoughtful evaluation of organizational goals, industry dynamics, and the desired pace of innovation. Consider the following steps:

1. Get clear about your objectives
2. Link those objectives with your corporate strategy
3. Select the right people in your organization
4. Balance open & closed activities according to your strategy & Culture

Understanding the nuances of the Value Proposition Canvas becomes particularly crucial when applying open innovation. This model aids in identifying and refining the value your organization offers to external collaborators and ensures alignment with the broader strategy.

Every transformation faces operational & legal Challenges especially while navigating intellectual property (IP) rights and legal agreements as it can be extremely complex in open innovation collaborations. Clear contractual frameworks and IP management strategies are crucial to avoid legal disputes besides cultural Barriers in executing successful?Open Innovation.

As entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of?Open Innovation, it’s crucial to understand the diverse models, methodologies, and challenges associated with this approach. By doing so, organizations can position themselves as leaders in their industries, driving sustainable innovation and achieving lasting success.

See you in the next edition!

Arar Notes is Bayan A. Arar newsletter issued monthly with the latest updates across HealthCare & Life Sciences. Read about this month’s insights and subscribe to get monthly updates on the latest in global health, Life Sciences, wellness, and more.