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How can digital trends be used purposefully in regards to the
application of injection systems? That is the key question being addressed by Vetter’s Open
Innovation Challenge. This new campaign, created by the Contract Development and Manufacturing
Organization (CDMO) 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’s innovation process.
The challenge consists of multi-disciplinary teams participating in workshops and field-work with the
theme ꞌInjection 2.0ꞌ. 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 ꞌDesign Thinkingꞌ, 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 EUR 10,000.
“As 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,” said
Dr. Claus Feussner, Senior Vice President Vetter Development Service.
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
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 patient’s 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.
“In 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. That 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’s leading partners in the development and
manufacture of injectable drugs, but also reinforce the competitive position of our clients in the global
market,” said Oskar Gold, Vetter’s Senior Vice President Key Account Management,
Marketing/Corporate Communications and Customer Project Management.
Vetter is conducting the Open Innovation Challenge in cooperation with the bwcon Innovation
Academy. bwcon GmbH is one of Europe’s leading technology networks, bringing together
approximately 600 companies and research establishments.
