Protecting the global pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem – what’s at stake?
We are living in a new era of healthcare that is rapidly advancing progress impacting patient outcomes and experiences. We’ve seen a remarkable pace of transformational innovation, applied research, and advanced clinical development over the last decade.
Despite this tremendous progress, there is much more work to be done, and patients are counting on us – now more than ever – to continue that momentum. At the heart of our industry is a focus on developing and delivering medicines for some of the world’s most challenging diseases, including those that have few or no effective treatments today.
When our innovation ecosystem works as intended, patients – and the entire healthcare system – benefit. But it’s important to remember that these medicines are not discovered overnight. It takes significant investment in addition to the brightest minds and thousands of hours working with urgency and conviction to develop the next breakthrough. This ecosystem – like any other – is fragile and must be preserved.
At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, we play an active and unique role in each element of the innovation ecosystem that’s driving this progress. This includes our scientists and researchers who are constantly seeking new discoveries, collaborative development fueled by partnerships with biotech, medtech, and academia, our work with HCPs and advocacy groups to ensure patients can access and adhere to our medicines, and our efforts championing policies that will positively impact patients.
Image courtesy of The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
Innovation starts with a good idea – wherever it comes from. Whether it’s through internal discovery or external sources, from a young entrepreneur or an established organization, or from an academic or a policymaker, it’s the idea that matters most. We are reimagining how medicines are discovered, developed and delivered through investments in R&D and partnerships focused on disease areas with serious unmet medical needs, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular, metabolic and retinal diseases, neuroscience, infectious diseases and vaccines, and pulmonary hypertension.
Our strong internal focus on advancing transformational science with the application of different modalities, including small molecule, large molecule, and cell and gene therapies, matches the commitment of stakeholders from across the global innovation community. From biotech startups and pharmaceutical companies to academic institutions and advocacy organizations – together, we stand up for science, truth, and innovation, recognizing the power that our collective work can have. It’s this collaboration and a shared trust among us that amplifies scientific advancements that elevate the standard of care for patients and drives real innovation.
But we don’t stop with the science – we also strive to make critical treatments accessible to patients who need them and do this amidst an ongoing public conversation about the value, affordability, and accessibility of transformational medicines.
Unfortunately, in a rush to attempt cutting cost of healthcare budget line items, new policies are being enacted without evaluating the full impact and unintended consequences on patient access, patient affordability and future innovation.
For instance, as governments and payers look to cut overall healthcare spending, they are not taking a truly comprehensive, patient-centric view. New policies that undermine medical innovation through price setting or rely on rigid, mechanistic Health Technology Assessment (HTA) frameworks and methods – fundamentally stall innovation and limit advancements that would otherwise help patients.
We know there is no global ideal measure of value in healthcare. It varies by country, culture, system, and policy. We can’t lose sight of collaborating with local health systems to match each society’s values with the delivery of innovative treatments and improved, patient-centric outcomes.
Image courtesy of The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
As partners and advocates, we are engaged in pursuing the next waves of innovation to enable a broad portfolio of products and navigate patient value and access. We’re committed to a localized approach to market access that delivers life-changing medicines to patients all over the world.
Continued progress against devastating and costly diseases depends on harnessing the best science in the world and investing in ongoing pharmaceutical innovation. Equally important is the accessibility of medical breakthroughs to patients that can benefit from them. It’s up to us as an industry to generate the clinical and real-world evidence which supports the value of our medicines and champion approaches that enhance affordability. It is our responsibility to advocate for policies that promote risk-taking, access, innovation, and most importantly, that keep patient value at the center.
Any healthy ecosystem is dependent upon all elements supporting and sustaining each other. By collaborating across the industry, we can continue to advance and translate the best scientific breakthroughs into practical treatment options with differentiated value. We stand ready to work with stakeholders and many policymakers across the healthcare system to support our global leading healthcare innovation ecosystem. The future holds so much promise. Through purpose-driven collaboration we can accomplish truly remarkable advances in human health.
Authors:
Global Head,
Janssen Business
Development
Chief Global Value and
Access Officer, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson