In pursuit of relentless innovation

David Knapp, PhD, vice president of research and development for Peripheral Interventions, Boston Scientific, and Ed White, chief analyst and vice president, IP and innovation research, Clarivate, discuss the importance of culture to entrepreneurial innovation and IP development, and how such cultures are built.

Innovation culture as an indicator of long-term success

Uncertainty and volatility epitomise the times we live in. Industries and economies have been upended. In such times, ideation and innovation can act as a driving force for recovery and new growth.

The concept of innovation is, by definition, about looking over the horizon and coming up with something new that matters. But the ability to do that repeatedly, thousands of times, over decades—that is based on culture, habit, and heritage.

Indeed, inherent innovation culture is a powerful indicator of long-term success, according to a recent report from Clarivate. Companies such as Boston Scientific, a global medical technology leader and a Top 100 Global Innovator 2021, are testament to that.

A relentless focus on values

As in any industry, pursuit of consistent innovation starts with highly engaged teams—diverse groups focused on identifying the right problems, imagining and delivering solutions that can be made as accessible as possible. At Boston Scientific, this stems from a laser focus on values. These include collaboration, diversity, inclusion, meaningful innovation and above all, what CEO Mike Mahoney calls “winning spirit”—a shorthand for grit, a relentless desire for improvement and avoiding complacency. Winning spirit, and the dogged pursuit of innovation it unlocks, is rooted in the belief that there is always more that the company can do to benefit patients—a focus on the company’s life-changing mission that makes the work of innovation both purposeful and personal.

R&D projects in the medical device industry often involve long timelines—some may take up to 10 years to complete from beginning to end and many are high risk. In addition to being grounded in a clear mission and values, the empathy that employees have for their customers and their patients is key to helping Boston Scientific drive its innovations over the finish line.

Problem solving cannot happen in a vacuum, and meaningful innovation comes from deep collaboration. One way Boston Scientific works with and learns from its customers is through its Institutes for Advancing Science. There are nine Institutes globally, where the company offers multi-disciplinary training to healthcare professionals, as well as a platform to learn and collaborate with one another. The company also works closely with start-ups, universities, hospitals, and academic medical centres. By building an innovation ecosystem where global collaboration flourishes, the company can deliver new medical solutions to address unmet needs.

Embodying meaningful innovation

When we look at the healthcare landscape, there are a lot of solutions in search of problems. The Boston Scientific R&D process comes from the opposite perspective: it starts with an understanding of the most significant problems for its customers and works to solve them. The company’s success has been in building highly engaged teams of problem-solvers and making sure they’re set to work on the right problems. Empathy is at the heart of this process—teams that can truly listen to and understand one another can empathise with their customers and move beyond addressing surface needs into truly transformative solutions.

One example of this was the development of the Eluvia Drug-Eluting Vascular Stent System for use in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD, which affects more than 200 million people around the world, occurs when arteries in the legs narrow and restrict blood flow due to plaque build-up. In addition to pain and swelling, severe cases can lead to ulcers and even to amputation of the affected limb. The Eluvia stent, which features sustained release of the lowest dose of the drug paclitaxel of any peripheral drug-eluting device, reopens blocked arteries and restores blood flow while utilising a drug-polymer combination to prevent tissue regrowth.

With the unmet patient need and challenging anatomy of this disease in mind, the team applied deep knowledge in disease state understanding, nitinol technology, stent design and drug coating in ten years of technology and product development that resulted in a product that is making a meaningful difference for these patients.

Future of innovation

When Clarivate patent intelligence looks more broadly at the directional sweet spot of innovation, where investment, impact and focus are occurring now, we see a strong sustainability theme. Companies and patent applicants are spending a great deal of time and talent on renewable energy, on energy usage in sectors such as aviation and transport, and in heating, refrigeration, and battery technologies. This direction of innovation tells of a future with less reliance and focus on non-renewable resources.

The medical device industry is in the business of not just inventing, but manufacturing devices—so for Boston Scientific, much of its innovation related to sustainability centres on its manufacturing and real estate footprint. The company is committed to carbon neutrality in all its manufacturing distribution by 2030. An overarching energy management strategy including manufacturing and distribution, green real estate and resource management has helped the company make significant progress toward goals like carbon neutrality and greater renewable energy use.

Just as global companies are taking a leadership role in environmental stewardship, they are also taking note of the relationship between diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and innovation.

The Boston Scientific approach to advancing science requires the diversity of thought, skill, and experiences of every employee. The company’s global Creating Equal Opportunities for Growth initiative is one example of supporting the acceleration of career advancement and address barriers that women and multicultural talent faced at the start of the initiative. The multifaceted initiative includes efforts to improve diversity awareness and inclusion competency skills for all employees, hold leaders accountable for meaningful efforts and results, and increase transparency and communication about diversity, DEI efforts and progress.

As the pace of innovation continues to accelerate, companies such as Boston Scientific are constantly balancing the urgency to deliver products to market faster, while ensuring they are safe, effective and make a positive impact. A wholly engaged workforce that can lead with empathy is central to these efforts.

It is always hard to see what is coming around the corners, but one thing is certain—there will continue to be a host of unmet clinical needs, and patients and providers waiting for solutions. Innovation will continue to challenge the status quo and deliver hope in the face of these challenges.