Chuck Sachs

In this DHCG Disruptive Dose, Mark Bard speaks with Chuck Sachs, Director of US Commercial Innovation at AstraZeneca, about balancing experimentation with execution in pharmaceutical innovation. Sachs emphasizes that successful innovation requires delivering tangible business value through scalable pilots, not just generating ideas. The conversation explores building credibility with commercial teams, securing ongoing investment through clear success criteria, and managing stakeholder expectations about realistic outcomes. Sachs discusses knowing when to pivot or kill underperforming projects and offers a pragmatic perspective: the most successful pharmaceutical innovations bridge “cool technology” with real commercial problems, ensuring innovation serves business objectives while maintaining the experimentation necessary for breakthrough thinking.