Challenges for sustainable innovation in the healthcare sector
Why should healthcare companies be focusing on sustainability? This question is not trivial at all, because
- the sustainability of a medical product or medicine doesn’t exactly play a major role when a customer is deciding whether or not to buy it
- the exacting regulatory requirements imposed by the approval process can make enhancing the sustainability of an innovation a real challenge
- medical devices and pharmaceutical products are designed to help people. That means they are by definition sustainable in at least one of the above dimensions, and directly contribute to realising Sustainable Development Goal 3.
For medtech and pharmaceutical companies, the business case for pushing sustainability higher up the agenda is becoming increasingly clear. There are, in our view, three main reasons for this:
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increasing external pressure
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sustainability-related business opportunities
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ethical and regulatory factors