In an industry where product development is very lengthy due to strict regulations - while millions of patients are waiting for new treatments - the need for reduced time-to-market is high.
That is why Life Sciences companies will need to revisit their R&D Operating Models.
Both regulators and companies are therefore setting course towards increased agility. This has already resulted in a market where the product range is expanding from small molecules to a vast spectrum of biomolecular therapies and personalized medicines.
A recent article by Berggren et al. (2018) states that the most successful pharma players will be those that are able to deploy analytical capabilities and that are implementing an R&D operating model that permits redirecting the focus on therapeutic areas, disease pathways, etc.
To implement such a model, an agile organization structure is needed, moving away from the traditional silos based on therapeutic areas and making room for more cross-functional R&D organizations. This also means reprioritizing projects and trials based on interim analyses and - as result thereof - the reshuffling of resources across projects.
Source: R&D in the 'age of agile' - McKinsey & Company