Rewriting Pharma’s Playbook: Lessons from Pharmageddon Europe 2024

Amsterdam has always been a city that pushes boundaries—whether in art, culture or ideas. It felt fitting that Pharmageddon Europe 2024 took place here in a city known for embracing change and challenging convention. For two days, we transformed this energy into something that pharma desperately needs: a willingness to experiment, to play and to rethink what we know about the industry and its future.

But this wasn’t just another gathering of pharma professionals to check off the latest buzzwords and trends. This was something else entirely—an opportunity to strip away the pretence and get real about the challenges we face and how we can embrace the audacity needed to fix them.

The Amsterdam of Pharma: A City of Play, a Field for Risk

Amsterdam is often referred to as a city of freedom—a place where exploration is not only allowed but encouraged. This spirit of exploration mirrored what we set out to achieve at Pharmageddon. The idea of “play”, introduced by Impatient Health 's Consulting experts, was a thread running throughout the event, not just as a catchy slogan but as a serious approach to problem-solving.

When you think of play, you might think of something casual, but here it was about intentional creativity. It’s easy to stay in the comfort zone, to stick with what we know and what’s safe. But just as Amsterdam’s canals once transformed a swamp into a thriving metropolis, we used play as a way to challenge the stagnant parts of our industry—to see new possibilities where, frankly, it feels like we’ve been stuck for too long.

This was the heart of the event. No more “business as usual.” Instead, we asked ourselves: How can we break down the walls of rigid thinking that have defined pharma for so long? How do we inject more creativity and freedom into an industry bound by compliance and tradition?

One panel that exemplified this need for bold thinking was the discussion on health equity, a topic that cuts to the core of pharma’s future responsibilities.?

Health Equity: Leading the Way, Not Just Making Noise

Health equity is a topic I’ve been passionate about for a long time. We all know that healthcare systems globally are uneven, with huge disparities in access, outcomes and even basic care standards. But what became clear during this panel is that addressing these gaps isn’t just a responsibility for governments or public health institutions—it’s a challenge that pharma must lead.?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: too many health equity initiatives end up as little more than PR exercises. We say the right things but when it comes to embedding equity into every aspect of our business models and innovation strategies, the follow-through can be shallow. During the panel, we dug deep into the hard questions—how do we make sure health equity doesn’t get sidelined in the race for quarterly profits? How do we avoid the trap of tokenistic actions and ensure that these efforts are sustainable and impactful?

The answer lies in long-term thinking and in making health equity a foundational part of how we operate. One of the most powerful takeaways was the realisation that equity isn’t just a moral imperative—it’s a commercial one too. Pharma can no longer afford to treat underserved populations as secondary markets. By focusing on access and ensuring our innovations are reaching the people who need them most, we open up new opportunities for growth and innovation. It’s not about doing charity work; it’s about creating a business model that is genuinely inclusive.

But why must pharma lead? Especially when we often wait for other actors in the healthcare system—governments, insurers, public health bodies—to catch up? The reality is that pharma, with its resources, innovation capabilities and global reach, is uniquely positioned to drive change at scale. We have the tools to integrate equity into the development of new treatments, clinical trials and healthcare technologies. If we wait for the rest of the system to step up, we’ll be waiting forever.

This is the kind of thinking that Impatient Health thrives on—moving beyond lip service to real action. If we’re not embedding equity into our business decisions, then we’re missing out on both a moral and commercial opportunity.

Patient Engagement: From Being Observed to Leading the Conversation

In a similar vein, another key discussion at Pharmageddon was how we begin to view patients as collaborators, actively participating in decisions about their care. The idea of patient-driven care is often framed as a passive process, where we study patients and “learn” from them. But what became clear during sessions like?Patients Are Impatient?is that the time for passive observation is over.

Patients don’t want to be at the centre of the conversation; they want to lead it. They don’t need pharma to speak for them—they need us to listen and follow their lead. And here’s the reality: we aren’t moving fast enough. While patients are driving change in everything from clinical trial design to drug access, the industry is still trying to catch up.

This shift, from observation to partnership, is one of the most important takeaways from the event. If we want to keep pace with the future of healthcare, we need to stop thinking about patients as subjects and start thinking about them as co-creators. This isn’t about listening to feedback; it’s about fundamentally changing the way we approach the entire healthcare journey.

The 4As: Audacity, Attention, Accountability, Action

Pharmageddon wasn’t about grand declarations of what’s possible; it was about being brutally honest with where we’ve been complacent and what needs to happen next. The framework that emerged throughout the event was clear: Audacity, Attention, Accountability, Action— Paul Simms 's 4As that became more than just a handy acronym, but a new way of thinking about our responsibilities as an industry.

What struck me most about these conversations was the balance between boldness and humility. Audacity isn’t about pushing for the sake of pushing; it’s about asking the hard questions, even when the answers are uncomfortable. Have we been paying enough attention to the real needs of patients? Have we been accountable for our failures as much as our successes? And most importantly—are we acting on what we learn?

In many ways, the 4As represent the mindset shift we need if we’re going to keep up with the complexity of modern healthcare. It’s not enough to have brilliant ideas. It’s about paying attention to the realities we often ignore—whether it’s the systemic inequities in access to care or the slow uptake of digital transformation in certain areas—and being willing to act decisively.

A New Chapter for Pharma: Play with Purpose

As the event came to a close, I found myself thinking about the future of pharma through the lens of Amsterdam itself—a city that’s constantly evolving, always adapting and never afraid to disrupt itself. That’s what we need in pharma right now: not just disruption for disruption’s sake, but a willingness to keep playing, keep experimenting and keep pushing towards something better.

Pharmageddon was about more than just conversations and panels; it was an invitation to rethink how we work, how we innovate and how we move forward. The biggest challenge now? Making sure this momentum doesn’t stay in the event room. The future we want is possible, but only if we’re willing to take risks, embrace failure and—most importantly—act.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about playing for fun—it’s about playing to win and doing it with purpose.

P.S. The Pharmageddon journey continues—we’re returning to the USA, bigger and bolder than before. Join the waiting list to be part of the next chapter in transforming pharma.