Biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly partnering with academia and specialized medical research institutes to conduct early-stage discovery research. Co-development and co-commercialization alliances between companies are well-structured with clear goals and milestones. This is much harder in early discovery stages where the purpose is to follow where the science leads. It makes it a real challenge to manage to corporate timelines, a burden often placed on scientists in industry who themselves often have a close affinity to the academy.

To help keep it academic alliances focused on objectives and more likely to get to an agreed to point where an informed decision could be made about whether or not to continue to pursue the research, we developed and conducted a series of interactive workshops for scientists around the globe to learn the basics of alliance management and working with partners.

Using case studies built on real experiences, we provided the scientists with the tools and techniques to effectively work with their academic colleagues, including the principal investigators who are notoriously independent. In doing so, we helped many participants gain confidence they could address troubling situations they were trying to resolve the next day!