Vetter is taking new steps in the further development of injection processes

Kick-off for the Vetter Open Innovation Challenge: Dr. Claudia Roth, Vice President of Innovation Management, welcomes the multidisciplinary participant teams on the first day of the workshop. (Image source: Vetter Pharma International GmbH)

- Multidisciplinary participant teams examine the applicability of digital trends to injection processes
- The User-Centered Innovation (UCI) approach directly incorporates user needs into the pharmaceutical development process
- Customers can benefit from insights into innovative and user-oriented product developments and services

How can digital trends be meaningfully utilized for the application of injection systems? This central question is addressed by the Open Innovation Challenge initiated by the Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) Vetter. Its kickoff was today with a workshop in Ravensburg involving four multidisciplinary teams, including students and professionals from medicine, economics, as well as employees of the pharmaceutical service provider. Using the user-centered innovation method "Design Thinking," a total of 20 participants will engage in direct dialogue with users of injection systems, such as nursing staff and patients, until the end of September. The goal of the challenge, which is structured in workshops and field phases under the motto "Injection 2.0": to develop innovative, forward-looking, and sustainable solutions around the area of medication injection that better meet the needs of users. Promising ideas will be further pursued within Vetter’s innovation process. The winning team will be rewarded with a prize of 10,000 euros.

"As an innovative partner of the world's top 20 pharmaceutical and biotech companies, we are committed to continuously improving safety and comfort aspects for users as well as our service offerings around medication injection. This is precisely where the Open Innovation Challenge comes in. The results of the competition are intended to benefit both medical professionals and patients, thereby also providing our customers with new, valuable insights," explains Dr. Claus Feussner, Senior Vice President of Vetter Development Service.

To identify sustainable innovation potentials, the pharmaceutical service provider applies the Design Thinking method. This approach of User-Centered Innovation (UCI) relies on the direct involvement of users from day one of development work. For example, participating teams interview patients, doctors, and nursing staff in care and nursing homes, hospitals, or in the homecare sector during the first field phase. This aims to uncover conscious and unconscious needs and problems in daily interactions with injection systems, to generate user-oriented solution ideas based on these insights.

"Active user involvement will play an increasingly important role in pharmaceutical development in the future. And since most users are already integrated into the digital world, they also expect this megatrend in medical products. With the Vetter Open Innovation Challenge, we are already investing in this future today. In doing so, we not only strengthen our role as one of the world’s leading partners in drug development and manufacturing but also enhance our customers’ competitive position in the global market," explains Oskar Gold, Senior Vice President of Key Account Management, Marketing/Corporate Communications, and Customer Project Management at Vetter.

Vetter conducts the Open Innovation Challenge in cooperation with bwcon Innovation Academy. bwcon GmbH is the leading economic initiative for promoting innovation and high-tech in Baden-Württemberg and one of the largest technology networks in Europe, connecting around 600 companies and research institutions.