Creativity - a Volatile Key of Success? Creativity in New Drug Development

This paper presents a study of successful and creative projects in the pharmaceutical industry. Creativity is here defined as the ability to bring forth a new product within a specific domain of knowledge, namely in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and oncological medicine. The paper, being based on interviews with 18 of the most leading pre-clinical, clinical and pharmaceutical researchers at former AB Hassle and ICI Pharmaceutical Division, suggests that if creativity is to be managed as an organizational resource, there are at least nine facets that need to be considered. These nine facets range from the most practical aspects to issues of project culture and human faculties such as curiosity and joy. The paper concludes that there is such a thing as creativity management but also claims that creativity is complicated to manage as an organizational resource, since it is based on both tight control and clear objectives at the same time, as there must be space for experimentation, discussions and what could be called non-linear thinking