BIOPHARMA R&D PARTNERSHIPS

This book is about  ,asymmetric &ldquo,David &, Goliath&rdquo, partnerships in pharmaceutical R&,D&mdash,bilateral arrangements in which one partner is a smaller bioscience or academic organization (David) and the other a large multinational corporation (Goliath). The past decade has seen a paradigm shift in how medicines and other therapies are discovered, developed and commercialized. The new distributed model of R&,D seamlessly blends external partnerships with in-house efforts to generate innovative medicines and create new value. Smaller bioscience firms and academia have been both beneficiaries and targets of this fundamental change. Partnering with giant pharmaceutical corporations can provide the resources and channels to market that an academic laboratory or smaller company simply does not have, but this approach also brings unexpected challenges and new demands. We explore those factors that most influence the emergence of valuable outcomes from such partnerships. In particular, we will adopt in many cases the David perspective, focusing on issues and challenges of most concern to the small partner in such arrangements. If these asymmetric partnerships are to deliver real value for both sides, the Davids in these David &, Goliath partnerships must develop the practices and mindset to face these issues and challenges head-on. This book seeks to address this need, drawing upon the partnering experiences and perspectives of more than forty different companies and organizations which the author has either worked closely with or interviewed. After an introductory chapter on how the large pharmaceutical companies have transformed their R&,D model, the remaining eleven chapters are organized as three parts. Part A introduces foundation concepts and provides a framework for understanding David &, Goliath partnerships. Chapter 2 describes the dynamics of biopharma R&,D projects. Chapter 3 discusses execution risk, collab