Published on 01/09/2023
Dear Readers,
In retrospect, most scientific breakthroughs can be traced back to an instant of serendipity. But as Louis Pasteur already knew, chance only favors the prepared mind.
This is what the pharmaceutical industry is all about and what we want to achieve at Novartis: creating a system that can identify the best scientific insights and bring them to patients in the most efficient manner.
Novartis has been doing this since its inception. Over the past 20 years, we have been the most productive pharmaceutical company when it comes to the development of new medicines.
We have developed more than 40 new molecular entities since the millennium – a feat none of our competitors has been able to achieve.
Breakthroughs in cancer, multiple sclerosis and in areas such as heart disease have helped to change the practice of medicine and have allowed millions of people around the world to improve and extend their lives.
And we aim to stay on this path. But to be successful, we need to strengthen our governance and accelerate collaboration between our discovery, development and commercial activities.
The reason is simple: Since we started our journey to become a leading medicines company, science has moved at great speed. Technologies deemed science fiction only a decade ago are reality today.
Just take gene therapy, for example: Although the first attempts to interfere with the human DNA for medical purposes started in the 1980s, it was only with the emergence of the genetic scissors technology CRISPR that gene therapy became a cornerstone in the industry.
To date, we have several gene therapies in the market and have several projects in the pipeline. Among others, we are working with the Gates Foundation to develop an in vivo sickle cell gene therapy that could one day also reach countries that have no access to such technologies today.
The same holds true for radioligand and RNA technologies. A decade ago, such approaches were rare. But today, we have several products on the market that can make a real difference to patients.
Similarly, this applies to our efforts in the realm of medicinal chemistry. Even as new technologies emerge, small-molecule drugs still offer huge advantages to patients around the world.
Ease of use as well as our expertise in manufacturing such treatments in the most efficient manner have helped us to become a leader in the field.
As much as I am convinced that Novartis is working towards creating an ideal framework to bring our scientific breakthroughs to patients, I am also confident that we have the talents who can push us to the next level of innovation.
Our recent breakthroughs in areas such as hematology, nephrology and immunology, which, among other topics, are discussed in this issue of live magazine, are not only testimony to the innovativeness of our researchers. They also show that stamina, courage and the will to collaborate are key ingredients of medical success.
This is of major importance. Breakthroughs never come in isolation but are part of a long cascade of events that are powered as much by an individual’s personal drive as by the willingness of others to cooperate and believe in an idea that can change patient outcomes in a meaningful way.
As one of our researchers has noted, in-depth communication is part and parcel of this process. But so are our governance efforts and the setup of dedicated boards that bring our units closer together. These are not tick-the-box committees that exist for the sake of order, but places where experts can engage in the necessary discussions.
With this in mind, I am confident that Novartis will continue on its innovation trajectory and maintain its collaboration mindset, which helps us not only to connect across the different teams, functions and business units, but to stay alert to what is going on around us and continue the collaboration with our external partners.
As Louis Pasteur said, chance favors the prepared. I am convinced that we are.
Joerg Reinhardt
Chair of the Board of Directors
