Radical breakthroughs in invention only come from a mixture of obsession, ingenuity, open mindedness, insight, foresight and intuition and luck. After all, serendipity, not blind luck, has added significant value to the advancement of science and often has played a part in important intellectual leaps of understanding. Without them, there is no ability to see the significance of, and potential represented by, serendipity. One idea is to actively bring invention and inventors back into the heart of the R&D process. The challenge faced by the many is that few know what real drug innovation looks like and how to deliver it. Some are beginning to realise the answer lies in being more innovative. The consequences are appalling for a start: Over $3 Billion in average capitalisation costs per drug, even greater numbers of clinical and commercial failures, decimated R&D budgets… This is not a problem that can be addressed by sheer numbers alone. Some parts of the industry believe the productivity balance and chances of finding innovation can be improved by simply increasing the number of candidates entering development. The beating heart of contemporary drug R&D has largely become a cumbersome and ever more costly exercise of process and people management.

Fortune favors the brave.