The road ahead for large pharma is increasingly challenging. For many years, the obstacles we face have continued to grow and critics declare our industry's prospects to be dim. The authors of this editorial take a more optimistic view: namely that those with a long-term vision to exploit the intellectual assets internally and externally, who focus in disease areas of genuine unmet need – using the right science and technologies, developing the right products, for the right patients, at the right differentiation and value – will prevail. These innovators will open new paths and make their way successfully, if not always smoothly, as they carry on with their journey to address eternal global medical needs.