Models for accessing biomedical innovation in Asia

Abstract

Asian countries are striving to transition into innovation-driven economies, and healthcare is a key sector on government agendas. Strong funding at academic institutions, high-impact publications, state-of-the-art clinical infrastructures, vast talent pools, increasing start-up activities and strengthening intellectual property regimes, all aligned with coherent government policies, is creating an evolving innovation ecosystem in countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and India. Such factors have fuelled a desire from global pharmaceutical companies to seek innovation in Asia. In this article, we review the varied strategies of large multinationals using two key aspects—the capital investments and operational model—to understand such diverse approaches. Based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis, we have classified these strategies into four distinct approaches—“Captive”, “Partner”, “Service” and “Open” models—and discussed case studies that fit into each of these clusters. The model may provide global pharmaceutical companies with a framework to evaluate their respective approaches for sourcing innovation and align them with the operational, financial, business and strategic needs of their organizations in Asia.