How can digital trends be used purposefully in regards to the application of injection systems? That is the key question being addressed by Vetter鈥檚 Open Innovation Challenge.
Created by the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), this new campaign was officially launched today at a workshop in Ravensburg.
The purpose of the challenge is to develop innovative, future-focused and sustainable solutions for the injection of medicines that are even better streamlined to user needs than current methods. Promising ideas emanating from the initiative will be further pursued in the context of Vetter鈥檚 innovation process.
The challenge consists of multi-disciplinary teams participating in workshops and field-work with the theme 隇孖njection 2.0隇�. Four groups comprising a total of 20 participants will include students, medical and economic professionals and staff from the pharmaceutical service provider itself.
The initiative will apply design thinking, a user-centered innovation method that involves direct communication with actual users of injection systems, including professional caregivers and patients in an effort to create more purposeful injection processes. The campaign will continue until the end of September with the winning team receiving an award of 鈧�10,000.
Senior vice-president at Vetter Development Service Dr Claus Feussner said: 鈥淎s an innovative partner of the top 20 pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide, we feel it is our responsibility to introduce continuous improvements to the safety and comfort aspects of the injection process for users as well as enhancements to our service offering based around the injection of medicine. That is precisely what our Open Innovation Challenge is designed to do; benefit medical specialists and patients as well as offering our customers new and valuable insights.鈥�
In order to identify sustainable areas of innovation potential, the pharmaceutical service provider incorporates the Design Thinking method. The User-Centered Innovation (UCI) approach is based on the direct integration of users from the first day of development work. For example, in the first field-work phase, participating teams will interview patients, doctors and professional caregivers in healthcare settings that include nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and the home healthcare sector itself.
The goal is to use this information to address the patient鈥檚 conscious and subconscious needs and any problems that arise when interacting with injection systems on a regular basis. Based on these results, user-oriented ideas for solutions can be generated.
Vetter鈥檚 senior vice-president, key account management, marketing/corporate communications and customer project management Oskar Gold said: 鈥淚n the future, the active integration of users into the pharmaceutical development process will take on increasing importance. Because most users have long since arrived in the digital world, they are expecting to see this megatrend applied to medical products as well.
鈥淭hat is why we have been investing today for the future, as demonstrated by our Open Innovation Challenge. This initiative will not only strengthen our role as one of the world鈥檚 leading partners in the development and manufacture of injectable drugs, but also reinforce the competitive position of our clients in the global market.鈥�
Vetter is conducting the Open Innovation Challenge in cooperation with the bwcon Innovation Academy. bwcon is one of Europe鈥檚 leading technology networks, bringing together approximately 600 companies and research establishments.