Innovation is the key for health system sustainability, according J&J's Robert Laird.
Mr Laird, Global Vice President of R&D, Ethicon Energy, Johnson & Johnson, told AusMedtech 2015 that innovation was vital to address the rising cost of health care.
Around the world spending on health is rising faster than GDP, which is not sustainable, he said.
"As a company, we look at innovations as a whole, innovations that extend duration of life, innovations that improve quality of life, and innovations that improve overall well-being. We believe if you do these right, the rest of the things will fall into place," Mr Laird said.
He said the company was always searching for "transformational" innovations.
"No longer is it ok to come out with a me-too innovation and expect market share and a lasting performance in the market place.
"We need to focus on those game-changing innovations, and they're very hard to do, that's why so many problems have not been solved yet, but we need to mobilise our efforts and resources to make sure we get after those," he said.
Mr Laid said J&J's focus was on identifying innovations that address medical need.
"From there, we mobilise deep scientific expertise, both from within our company and without."
He said that J&J, like all companies, had to look beyond its "own four walls" for the best science, and then leverage its own strengths, which is very much in "execution" and "commercialisation".
"We can deploy strategies globally and have a significant impact when we launch products," he said. "The end goal is to deliver speed to market because these innovations do not benefit anyone if they stay on the shelf."
According to Laird, all funders and hospitals - every region and every market - are managing growing health expenditure by assessing innovation against what he called the 'triple aim'.
The 'triple aim' is patient satisfaction, such as faster recovery and return to work, cost containment or reduction, and improved clinical outcomes.
"Gone are the days when you could come out with an innovation that's maybe marginally better than the competition and expect to get adoption.
"If you don't 'hit' on the triple aim, funders will send you on your day," Laird said. "That's really what has been fuelling change in J&J from an innovation perspective."
In response to a question from the audience on what J&J looks for in a potential partnership, Laird said evidence is key.
He acknowledged that most small companies will not have a full set of data demonstrating the validity of their innovation, but give "us a reason to believe".
"What gets us excited is what gets our customers excited," he said, going on to highlight the transformational impact of a potential innovation as something with great attraction to the company.