Cross-industry partnerships have changed the way pharmaceutical companies approach drug research and manufacturing. Factors such as expiring patents, paucity of blockbuster drugs, need for cost cutting and more targeted cures has forced pharma companies to look beyond their own reserves of knowledge and capabilities.
Multinational companies are looking eastward in their endeavor to create new therapeutics by partnering with emerging pharma companies from China, India and other south east Asian economies. Big pharma companies are also investing in large scale R&D facilities; a recent example of this being Novartis' announcement to invest US$1 billion in a R&D facility in China. They are also partnering with Indian pharma companies to penetrate and capture a larger share of the potential opportunity there.
These partnerships between pharma, biotech and the academia are expected to address particular near-term challenges by utilising different skills and capabilities across organisations and geographies. These partnerships have taken several forms such as between independent contract research and manufacturing solution providers, CROs and other external development partners, service providers, industry and academic groups, and Public-Private Partnerships. In order to remain successful and sustainable the partnerships will require proper infrastructure and systems alongside organised business processes.
We believe this emerging flexible model of partnerships will drive the future growth in pharma industry. In this special issue of Pharma Focus Asia on Pharma Partnerships, with their extensive experience, many industry leaders have shared their insights into the emerging model of partnerships in pharma industry. Hope you enjoy reading the magazine.
I thank all the authors for their support and contribution in making this issue possible.
-- Issue 18 --
Ganesh Nayak, Executive Director Zydus Cadila India
