INNOVATION MODELS IN THE BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR - Innovation in the Biopharmaceutical Industry - page 24

cost containment. Building a better consensus on the models reviewed in this paper
could help to reconcile the present widely differing views concerning how to achieve
a balanced approach to effective budget control that would benefit payers, give
patients rapid and open market access, and allow innovators to have prices that
provide a fair financial return.
In particular this analysis would suggest:
1. A shift away from an emphasis on breakthrough products, towards a more bal-
anced support for the dominant incremental innovation paradigm is needed, in
conjunction with greater attention to facilitating the development and diffusion
phases.
2. Cost containment measures by health purchasers which reduce prices and limit
uptake of innovative products should be evaluated to assess their compatibility
with the Lisbon agenda. A concerted effort is needed to audit existing regulations
and identify and remove forms of regulation that discourage European investment
in biopharmaceutical R&D.
3. New approaches are needed to regulation and “market-based” negotiation, based
upon a more sophisticated appreciation of the nature of the innovation pro-
cess. These new approaches will more effectively reconcile the needs of health-
care systems to maintain budgetary discipline in the short term, while offering
stronger incentives for European investment over the long term.
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