Pfizer Tops CNS Summit Innovation Index

Pfizer has topped the fifth annual ranking of digital, research and development (R&D), and commercial partnership innovation in the global pharmaceutical industry, leading the annual Collaborating for Novel Solutions (CNS) Summit Innovation Index as compiled by IDEA Pharma, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Photo Insert: The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine

Held in Boston, Massachusetts, the CNS Summit Innovation Index examines which drug makers are leveraging innovation in three spheres: Clinical development which sets the stage for future growth, with new technologies and a focus on optimizing clinical trials; commercial partnerships and operations including manufacturing and infrastructure, and; investment in digital therapeutics and other research into the most promising tech and academic advancements.

Firms must have a strong balance between these ingredients. That was a key factor why the trio of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis topped the index. Pfizer's discovery of California-based Saama Technologies through a hackathon and its engagement helped the company clean up clinical datasets and identify coding errors in less than 24 hours with minimal human intervention, providing the company an advantage that assisted its COVID vaccine clinical trial design strategy in near real-time.

Roche, which slipped several rungs from last year, grew its commercial footprint in diverse spaces such as COVID-19 diagnostics and diabetes care management. Johnson & Johnson, No. 2 in this year's list, is moving forward with a foundational new robotic surgery system that could allow the company to make a bigger splash in the minimally invasive surgery space.

Companies ranging from Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly to Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim continued investments in artificial intelligence and quantum computing to fuel smarter clinical R&D in mass-market diseases like diabetes and rare disorders such as lupus.

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