Major drugmakers are beginning to reinvent themselves, emulating universities and startups in an effort to stimulate innovation, according to pharmaceutical executives at Biocom’s Global Life Science Partnering Conference. Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer have set up several innovation centers, and Merck has formed a venture fund within its research and development organization. Major pharmaceutical firms must continue to be willing to change how to operate to push innovation, said Uwe Schoenbeck, Pfizer’s senior vice president and chief scientific officer of external R&D innovation.
