ITALY: STRATEGY FOR PHARMA INNOVATION

The Italian pharmaceutical environment over the past few years has been experiencing growing concern over its competitiveness, especially versus the globalization trends expressed by the large multinationals, and an urgent need is felt to find new ways to aim for competitivity on both the Italian and the international scenes, according to Francesco della Valle and Alfonso Gambardella of the Italian company Lifegroup, in an Epton prize-winning paper published in R&D Management (23 4 287-302, 1993).

The paper critically discusses the factors conditioning the drug research and development process, and highlights the opportunities deriving from recent scientific advancements in molecular biology as a new basis for the design of active molecules. The strategic and organizational implications for the conduct of drug discovery, developing and, ultimately, marketing, are analyzed in depth. In a press comment about this, the authors say it is highly encouraging that an Italian paper has been chosen for this prize, adding that their views may prove a viable alternative on which to found new pharmaceutical innovation strategies.