Bob Go, Global Managing Director of Deloitte’s Life Sciences & Health Care industry group was a participant at the Healthcare Governors' meeting, which took place on January 25, 2007, during the World Economic Forum’s 2007 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The meeting is a yearly gathering of top Life Sciences and Health Care executives and serves as a forum to exchange ideas, challenge each other and engage the community in meaningful initiatives or projects.

Mr. Go led a session on innovation in the life sciences industry. The session was based on joint research that Deloitte and the World Economic Forum completed in 2006 and was structured around two papers prepared by Deloitte Research: "Innovation in the Life Sciences Industry: Igniting an Innovation Explosion" and "Innovation in the Life Sciences Industry: Results from a Survey of Life Sciences & Health Care Executives." These papers were prepared as part of an ongoing research program with the World Economic Forum and are detailed below:

Innovation in the Life Sciences Industry: Igniting an Innovation Explosion
The life sciences industry seems poised for an innovation explosion. Advances in technology, improvements in R&D processes and intensifying market competition are fueling extensive efforts in successful innovation. Simultaneously, consumer demand and shifting demographics are exerting greater pressure to fulfill the promise of efficient and accessible innovative healthcare solutions. This paper examines the drivers and barriers to innovation in the Life Sciences industries, as well as potential areas for action by industry, government and other stakeholders to continue to drive and accelerate the pace of innovation.

Innovation in the Life Sciences Industry: Results from a Survey of Life Sciences & Health Care Executives
Innovation in the life sciences industry is vital for meeting growing consumer demand for more effective and affordable health care solutions and is critical to life sciences companies for establishing a competitive advantage and sustaining business growth. Deloitte Research recently invited life sciences and health care executives to share their opinions about key drivers accelerating innovation, important barriers impeding innovation and areas in which private and public sector action should be considered to support continued innovation.

The paper and survey results include a full summary of respondents’ views about key drivers, barriers and areas for action. Learn more from the full reports available below in PDF format.