In pharma, the big story of the spring and summer has been M&A. The drama began in April with an asset swap between GSK and Novartis. The most recent headline grabbers have been inversion deals like AbbVie’s $54 billion acquisition of Shire.

1. The Hay Group Singapore on Pharma
deals don’t have to threaten innovation
In pharma, the big story of the spring and summer has been M&A. The
drama began in April with an asset swap between GSK and Novartis. The
most recent headline grabbers have been inversion deals like AbbVie‟s $54
billion acquisition of Shire.
All this deal activity is a potential threat to innovation. Why? During a deal,
it‟s easy to overlook the intangible drivers of development: people and
culture.
Deal mania makes it easy to forget that people and the way they work
together are the main drivers of innovation. Drug development is a team
sport, and the way the players interact is a major factor in achieving
success. Too often, deals break up environments that have made innovation
possible.
M&A integrations also create atmospheres of anxiety within a company that
dampen R&D productivity. When layoffs occur—or wind of them blows
through an organization—people focus less on their jobs and more on job
security. The threats to innovation don‟t end there:
 R&D budgets shrink, jobs are cut and research projects dry up.
 Researchers have to adjust to a new team and a new work
environment.
 When two distinct research cultures merge, it can destroy delicate
„ecosystems‟ of climate and culture that support scientific discovery.
Integration doesn‟t have to harm innovation. But you have to stay focused
on people.
So with our most recent white paper “Keep your innovation from walking
out the door” we want to share three key people strategies to keep
innovation rolling.
Source: http://blog.haygroup.com/