When you think of innovation at a pharmaceutical giant, it’s easy to picture vast research labs, billion-dollar pipelines, and teams of scientists working behind closed doors. But in innosabi’s recent webinar with AstraZeneca, the spotlight shifted to something else entirely: how to scale innovation through collaboration (and how lessons from the healthcare sector can inspire corporate innovation across industries).
The discussion, led by Madeleine Thun, co-lead of AstraZeneca’s A Catalyst Network, touched on everything from ecosystem partnerships to patient-centric KPIs. While the full conversation is packed with insights, here are five standout takeaways worth pausing on.
As Madeleine shared during the webinar, “In the Catalyst Network, we work with the extended healthcare ecosystem to drive innovation beyond just developing medicines.”
AstraZeneca has a mantra that guides its entire approach: “Love the Problem, Scale the Outcome.”
At first glance, it sounds almost too simple. But the power lies in what it prevents: falling in love with a particular project, tool, or technology. In a large organization, it’s tempting to pour resources into a promising solution and push it everywhere. The risk, though? Forcing a square peg into round holes across different markets.
“Loving the problem means truly understanding what you’re trying to solve — the processes, the people, who is impacted, and what really needs to change.”
Instead, AstraZeneca doubles down on understanding the real challenge. For example, diagnosing patients early might require AI-enabled ECG tools in one country, while in another it could demand entirely different pathways. The details change, but the commitment to solving the underlying problem—better patient outcomes—remains constant.
The lesson for corporates: Obsess over the problem, not the project. Great solutions follow naturally.
One of the biggest barriers to corporate–startup collaboration is fear: fear of losing intellectual property, fear of being overshadowed, or fear of getting locked into a relationship where the bigger player calls all the shots.
AstraZeneca takes a refreshing stance here. They don’t ask startups to hand over their IP. Instead, they frame collaborations as a “triple win”: good for the healthcare system, good for the startup, and good for AstraZeneca.
“We don’t claim to own IP from the companies we work with. We support and work together with a common purpose.”
It may sound idealistic, but it’s actually pragmatic. Startups are more likely to engage when they feel their work is protected and valued, and AstraZeneca benefits by accessing cutting-edge ideas without stifling them. This shift (from ownership battles to outcome-driven collaboration) is one of the most fundamental differences in their model.
The lesson for corporates: Trust builds better ecosystems than contracts ever will.
Many people assume AstraZeneca’s role ends once a treatment is developed. But in reality, their A Catalyst Network looks at the entire patient journey, from identifying at-risk populations to ensuring patients stay on the right therapy long term.
This broader scope is what makes the initiative so ambitious. It goes beyond the science itself. It’s about tackling systemic challenges like access, diagnosis delays, and treatment adherence. In practice, that means working with hospitals, payers, patient organizations, and technology partners, not just research labs.
“For patients to be well-treated, you first need to identify those at risk, diagnose them, get them on the right treatment, and help them stay on it. That requires the entire ecosystem — not just pharma.”
It also explains why their network is deliberately inclusive, spanning startups, scaleups, academia, and beyond. Healthcare is too complex for any one company to solve in isolation. So by zooming out from medicine alone and looking at the system, AstraZeneca can have an outsized impact.
The lesson for corporates: If you want impact, zoom out from your product and look at the bigger system it lives in.
One of the most memorable parts of the webinar was the practical advice for large corporations. Madeleine put it bluntly: don’t waste startups’ time.
“The key is finding your champions and senior leaders who dare to lean in. Most people are a little afraid — but with the right ambassadors, others will follow.”
That means two things:
Otherwise, you risk stalling promising collaborations in endless internal debates. For startups—who move fast and have limited runway—this kind of limbo can be fatal.
This is a rare dose of humility from a major corporation, and it’s why the advice resonated so strongly. True innovation partnerships require not just bold ideas but also operational honesty.
The lesson for corporates: Self-awareness is underrated in innovation. Know your pace, own it, and don’t let it derail others.
Innovation metrics can get messy. All too often, corporations celebrate the number of pilots launched, projects announced, or partnerships signed. These look good in reports but rarely reflect whether the work made a difference.
AstraZeneca flips the script. Their key metrics are starkly patient-centric:
This focus on outcomes over outputs keeps the entire network grounded. Instead of chasing “vanity metrics,” AstraZeneca tracks what truly matters: lives improved and extended.
If you can’t measure innovation, you can’t scale it. Find out which KPIs matter most in our Ultimate Guide.
The lesson for corporates: Redefine success around impact, not activity.
The AstraZeneca approach underlines a truth many overlook: innovation scales not through ideas alone, but through the ecosystem and foundations that sustain them.
But these highlights are only the starting point. The full webinar dives into the details we couldn’t cover here—like:
As Madeleine put it herself, “In a huge organization where teams have autonomy, the right hand often doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. Platforms like innosabi Startup give us enterprise-wide visibility.”
Want to see how it all comes together? Check out the full webinar replay and explore the complete conversation.
