Disruptive vs Sustaining Innovation in Healthcare With: Dr. Bernardo Perez-Villa
Dr. Bernardo Perez-Villa, Senior Innovations Engagement Partner at Cleveland Clinic, clarifies the difference between disruptive and sustaining innovation in healthcare. He notes that many so-called 'first-in-class' drugs are actually incremental innovations, as Big Pharma often avoids high-risk breakthroughs, leaving startups to push boundaries until they are acquired. Drawing parallels to industries like tech and entertainment, Perez-Villa explains that truly disruptive innovations target non-consumers or overserved populations with simpler, more affordable, and more accessible offerings. He uses the iPhone and ChatGPT as examples of innovations that started clunky but rapidly improved to reshape entire markets. Perez-Villa emphasizes that in healthcare, disruptive innovation must align with business models that allow sustainability, otherwise it risks becoming just another sustaining technology.
Episode Contents:
Key Takeaways
- Disruptive innovations target non-consumers or overserved populations
- Startups often drive true disruption until acquired by incumbents
- Sustainability requires pairing technology with viable business models
Transcript Summary
What’s the difference between disruptive and sustaining innovation?
Disruptive innovations start clunky, target non-consumers, and grow into broader markets; sustaining ones improve existing offerings.
How does Big Pharma approach innovation?
They avoid risky disruption, often waiting to acquire startups that prove market traction.
What makes disruption sustainable?
Pairing technology with business models that enable long-term viability.
More Topics
- AI in the Healthcare Industry
- AI and Medical Innovation
- Healthcare Ethics and Policy
- AI in Patient Care
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About the Series
AI and Healthcare—with Mika Newton and Dr. Sanjay Juneja is an engaging interview series featuring world-renowned leaders shaping the intersection of artificial intelligence and medicine.
Dr. Sanjay Juneja, a hematologist and medical oncologist widely recognized as “TheOncDoc,” is a trailblazer in healthcare innovation and a rising authority on the transformative role of AI in medicine.
Mika Newton is an expert in healthcare data management, with a focus on data completeness and universality. Mika is on the editorial board of AI in Precision Oncology and is no stranger to bringing transformative technologies to market and fostering innovation.