How to Thrive as Tomorrow’s Life Sciences Leader

The life sciences sector is in flux. Breakthroughs in cell and gene therapy, AI-driven analytics, and precision medicine are colliding with capital scarcity, regulatory inertia, and leadership vacuums. In this environment, survival depends on leaders who can route through volatility with agility, resilience, and vision. 

Dr Colin Sims, CEO of Adthera Bio and veteran of Novartis, Sanofi, Kyowa Kirin, and Accenture, has seen the industry from every angle - R&D, strategy, venture capital, and operations. Speaking with Odgers’ Life Sciences Practice, he discussed openly what leading through uncertainty demands. 

The Harsh Reality: A Prolonged Winter for Investment

Sims describes the current funding environment as the toughest he has experienced in three decades. Early-stage companies, once able to attract ready-made talent with promises of rapid growth, now face relentless fundraising challenges and cautious investors. 

As a result, the model is shifting. “There’s more appetite for growing talent, because it’s cost-effective, it creates loyalty, and it’s the only sustainable path.” 

AI: Mindset Over Machine 

AI dominates headlines, but Sims is blunt: “What we mostly call AI today is enhanced analytics, not true self-learning systems”. 

The real opportunity lies in predictive analytics: linking patient data, manufacturing processes, and clinical outcomes to determine who will benefit from cutting-edge therapies. But the capability gap is not technical, it’s leadership. 

Rethinking Discovery: A Radical Call 

Perhaps Sims’ boldest claim is that Big Pharma should consider rethinking internal discovery research altogether. With the top 20 companies holding $1.5 trillion in free cash, he argues the future lies in external opportunity vetting and agile partnerships rather than maintaining vast in-house discovery teams. The not-invented-here mindset, he cautioned, continues to stifle innovation. 

This reframes what kind of leaders the industry needs: not empire-builders guarding internal labs, but scientific generalists and partnership navigators who can evaluate assets, strike deals, and scale them with discipline. 

The Leadership Profile of the Future 

What does a leader who can thrive in this environment look like? Sims is clear that it begins with scientific grounding. A PhD or equivalent, he argues, is not valuable for the specific knowledge it confers but for the discipline it instils. “It teaches you to move from the unknown to the known with rigor”, he said. That scientific mindset equips leaders to make decisions with incomplete information, a constant reality in life sciences. 

For Sims, adaptability is not a soft skill but a defining marker of resilience in a sector where volatility is the norm. Stamina and resilience, he stressed, are essential to withstand the relentless pace of change and the inevitable setbacks that come with scientific and commercial risk. 

Finally, purpose beyond profit is emerging as a defining trait. In life sciences, where failure is common and the impact is measured in lives saved, leaders who anchor their decisions in the mission create both moral authority and commercial advantage.  

Leading Through Uncertainty 

Boards, investors, and executives cannot rely on old metrics of tenure or pedigree. The future belongs to those who combine scientific depth with adaptability, who can embrace AI as a mindset, and who see talent not as a commodity but as the foundation of resilience. 

At Odgers, we help life sciences organisations identify and develop leaders who can thrive amid uncertainty, disruption, and change. The next era of the industry demands nothing less.

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Find out more about organisations and leaders who are leading through uncertainty in other sectors.

Get in touch. Follow the links below to discover more, or contact our dedicated Life Sciences leadership experts from your local Odgers office here.