PsOlve Innovation Cycle: advancing psoriasis innovation through a patient-centered approach

In healthcare, innovation means going beyond treatment and focusing on people’s experience and quality of life.

At Opinno Healthcare, we partnered with Almirall to design and run PsOlve, an international innovation cycle aimed at identifying and accelerating solutions that address unmet needs in moderate-to-severe psoriasis, integrating the patient voice and the potential of new technologies.

The challenge

Almirall is a global pharmaceutical company focused on medical dermatology, committed to improving patients’ lives through science, innovation, and a deep understanding of their needs.

The company wanted to identify and implement solutions that could improve the quality of life of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis beyond pharmacological treatment. To address that challenge, we launched PsOlve, an international call aimed at professionals from the healthcare ecosystem in Spain, Italy, France, and Germany.

How we worked

We began by researching the condition and the patient context in depth, identifying the key challenges affecting patient well-being.

Based on that analysis, we defined the program’s innovation framework with Almirall and structured the challenge around three major areas: patient follow-up and management inside and outside the healthcare setting, psychological support, and access to information and everyday resources.

We designed and managed the full innovation process, from applications to screening and initiative selection, supported by a multidisciplinary jury that included dermatology specialists, innovation experts, and patient association representatives.

After the selection phase, we worked with five finalist teams through an innovation coaching program. Across seven hours of mentoring per team, we helped them turn their initiatives into viable projects, strengthening their value proposition, user-centricity, and potential impact for patients and healthcare professionals.

The project concluded with the selection of the winning team, PsOver, an AI-powered tool that scores psoriasis severity and provides additional information to clinicians in therapeutic decision-making.

“Thanks to Katherine and Manya, because without doubt, their coaching sessions have helped improve the action plan and the quality of our project.”

Impact

• 25 applications received across 4 countries: Spain, France, Germany, and Italy
• 3 use-case areas addressed: patient follow-up, psychological support, and everyday information needs
• 5 finalist teams supported by Opinno
• 7 hours of innovation coaching per team
• 100% recommendation rate for the mentoring program
• 2 out of 3 teams significantly improved their initiative after coaching

PsOlve shows how open innovation, combined with expert support and a patient-centered mindset, can accelerate the development of solutions with real impact in healthcare.