J&J’s Approach To Sourcing Innovation: Closing The Networking Gap

15 Oct 2014

Johnson & Johnson is nearing the completion of its network of early-stage innovation centers. IN VIVO talks to Patrick Verheyen of the year-old London hub to see where innovation centers fit into the J&J plan, and to Jimmy Zhang of the company’s soon-to-launch Shanghai branch about the climate for innovation in China and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

The blockbuster pharmaceutical era may be a thing of the past and market success for health care products may be harder to achieve, but there is no shortage of ideas, be they from scientists, clinicians, or entrepreneurs. Selecting the right ones to develop is where the skill lies, however, given the high failure rate of products that do make it through development.

Crushingly high, in some cases, especially for “holy grail” targets like Alzheimer’s disease therapy, where the failure rate for drug...