HERMES PHARMA CEO Dr Jürgen Ott on what FMCG can teach consumer health about speed, experience, and innovation
Several major pharmaceutical companies have carved out or spun off their consumer healthcare divisions in recent years, creating standalone organizations with the scale of pharma and the commercial ambitions of fast-moving consumer brands. Independence has brought opportunity and pressure in equal measure. These businesses must now deliver faster innovation, sharper consumer focus, and stronger differentiation, all while maintaining the quality and compliance standards inherited from their pharma origins.
In this feature article for Drug Development & Delivery, HERMES PHARMA CEO Dr Jürgen Ott examines how consumer health companies can bridge these two worlds. He argues that success depends on combining consumer insight and design thinking with scientific and regulatory rigor, and that involving an experienced innovation partner at the very start of product development is where the greatest value is created.
Topics covered in the article include:
- Why user experience, from taste and swallowability to convenience and usability, has shifted from a secondary consideration to a commercial imperative in crowded CHC categories.
- How declining brand loyalty and rising consumer expectations are raising the bar for differentiation across OTC medicines and supplements.
- Why design thinking and early feasibility assessment reduce the late-stage reformulations that can add months (or longer) to timelines.
- How early collaboration with a specialist CDMO turns the partner from a service provider into a genuine driver of innovation.
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