In today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, strategic partnerships between pharmaceutical companies, startups, and healthcare systems have become essential for driving innovation and improving patient outcomes. Industry leaders emphasize that successful collaborations require mutual understanding, aligned objectives, and agile approaches to overcome inherent differences in business models and timelines.
Bridging Different Worlds: The Challenge of Pharma-Startup Partnerships
Richard Cassidy, Head of the Astellas Rx+ Business Accelerator, highlights the fundamental differences between pharma companies and digital health startups.
"We're all in the healthcare space, we're all aiming to improve patient outcomes. So we think we understand each other. But just as tennis and ice hockey players each have their own distinct sports, stepping onto the ice with a tennis racket would end up in serious trouble.”
he explains.
These differences manifest in various ways, from decision-making timelines to expectations around regulatory approval. While pharma companies view regulatory approval as "business go," startups often see it as just the beginning of their journey.
Cassidy advocates for "agile co-creation" as the solution: "It's about making sure that when you're working with a partner, you understand why your partner is wanting to work with you, what is the benefit for their business and their objectives."
Scaling Digital Health Solutions in Emerging Markets
Nipun Jain, Head of Innovation Hubs and Partnerships for International at AstraZeneca, approaches partnerships from a health equity perspective.
"Healthcare systems in lower-middle income group countries are under-resourced, over-leveraged, and patient outcomes are unfortunately not optimal," he notes.
AstraZeneca's approach involves identifying population health gaps in therapy areas where they have subject matter expertise, then partnering with startups to develop technological solutions. "Digital health is the great equalizer," Jain explains, describing how technologies like AI diagnostics and telemedicine can help healthcare systems in developing countries catch up to those in the developed world.
This strategy has yielded impressive results: "We have launched 17 health innovation hubs in countries across Latin America, Africa, Middle East, and Asia. We have created more than 200 partnerships, more than 100 with startups, more than 40 with government organizations. We have launched digital health solutions in more than 8,000 hospitals and we have impacted more than 11 million people so far."
The Power of Consortia in Driving Innovation
Adrian Gheorghiu, who leads Gravitate Health while also serving as a digital client partner at Pfizer, highlights how large consortia can effectively drive innovation. Gravitate Health brings together 45 members, including academia, pharma companies, and regulators, all aligned toward improving health outcomes by providing patients with relevant, trustworthy information.
"If you align all these members to a single and shared goal, then you start looking at how you make it work," Gheorghiu explains.
"A partnership of 45 members might seem too large, but I've noticed emerging partnerships across sectors that quickly address issues that previously would take longer."
The Venture Capital Perspective
Haider Alleg, General Partner at Allegory Capital, brings a venture capital perspective to the discussion. He emphasizes that the biotech investment model cannot simply be applied to digital health: "We tend to copy in digital health the biotech model, like 'let's build something that Novartis wants and Novartis will buy it.' And that doesn't happen."
Alleg sees tremendous potential in digital health, which he describes as "the last frontier of regulated industry where anything that we put at it is amazing." However, he notes that startups often struggle to scale due to the high cost of patient acquisition, suggesting that pharma companies could play a more significant role in helping these companies reach millions of patients.
Building Partnerships That Last
The panelists agree that successful partnerships require clear alignment on objectives from the outset. As Richard Cassidy advises:
"Look at all those partnerships you have, and if you can't link them back to your business goal and your partner's business goal, stop doing them."
For Nipun Jain, the key challenge is "aligning what is in it for everyone" and ensuring that startups understand that pharma companies are not the ultimate customers for their digital health solutions.
Adrian Gheorghiu emphasizes the importance of governance and shared goals in sustaining large consortia, while Haider Alleg calls for better connection between corporate venture capital in pharma and commercial objectives.
Key Takeaways:
1) "The science is embedded in the industry. The more there will be VCs coming up pouring investors' money and de-risking your initiatives, the more we are going to impact patients." - Haider Alleg
2) "If you can't link partnerships back to your business goal and your partner's business goal, stop doing them." - Richard Cassidy
3) "Digital health is the great equalizer where technologies can provide that edge to healthcare systems to cover the gap." - Nipun Jain
4) "Stay truthful to health impact. The collaborations can grow around that, and whatever side effects like making money or building reputation will come as well." - Adrian Gheorghiu
5) "Partnership is driven by looking at market forces and dynamics and being more proactive, absorbing risk in a different way compared to how big pharma operated in the past." - Adrian Gheorghiu
With thanks to all panelists for contributing to the discussion that this article is based on:
Richard Cassidy, SVP and President of the Rx+ Business Accelerator, Astellas
Nipun Jain, Head of Innovation Hubs & Partnerships for International, AstraZeneca
Haider Allegory, General Partner, Allegory Capital
Adrian Gheorghiu, Sustainability-Innovation Coordination Lead, WP 4 industry lead, Gravitate Health & Director, Digital Global Client Partner, Pfizer
Moderator: Roberta Pandolfi, Global Clinical Development & Operations, Boehringer Ingelheim
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