An account from our Head of Innovation on the New Product Development Process:

Someone once said ‘innovate or die’. Rather drastic language I thought at the time but I can see pharmaceutical packaging New Product Development is essential to survival for many of us. The speed of innovation today is almost unnerving and what we would have considered impossible only three to five years ago we are delivering with speed today.

Leading a team in Pharmaceutical Packaging New Product Development is probably one of the best positions I’ve held in my career in the pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices sector. Everyone loves the excitement of a new concept and it’s this point that makes the job challenging.

NPD requires many qualities and often involves a host of personnel. Initially all ideas are encouraged, a concept emerges, pharmaceutical packaging solutions are researched, creativity appears from unexpected sources and imagination gets a hold – with the ability to go so far as to lose sight of the original objective altogether! Then the challenges emerge and the team diminishes quickly, an invoice arrives from your design house and the F.D. brings a touch of reality to the picture. Many will acknowledge the truth of this cycle, some will maybe admit it’s happened to them!

At Origin we know the risks of product development. We believe the NPD department has the ability to bring success or failure to an organisation almost beyond any other department. So many costs are hidden and overlooking one key benefit in the design of a product can totally preclude you from reaching your objective.

That’s why we invented PILOT – In simple terms it’s a 4D approach to product development, breaking every project down into managed stages that are costed and approved before the next stage can progress. The beauty of the PILOT system is the flexibility it provides to our clients. Whether we’re starting from an idea or if we’re redeveloping an established product; PILOT provides a structured approach to a potentially costly process.

PILOT isn’t just about cost either, it challenges a concept in terms of functionality, productivity, feasibility, marketability as well as the legal & ethical validity of a product. Our process is specifically designed to accommodate the successful development of medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging with a particular emphasis on child safe devices. The process promotes strategic manufacturing using our HP3 partnership network.

Whatever innovations you undertake to develop, using Origin and the PILOT process to steer you through the stages diminishes risk substantially and ensures your concept is successfully realised and given the prominence it deserves. Call us or visit stand 2P51 at CPhI worldwide Barcelona 4th-6th October 2016 for a demonstration of our system.