The Development and Management of Alliance Networks in the Biopharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to analyze the development and management of strategic technology alliances (STA) and alliance networks in the biopharmaceutical industry. In particular the analysis concentrates on aspects of alliance management, as well as the development of alliance networks in the form of Open Innovation Alliances in the biopharmaceutical industry. In addition, real-world examples of alliance networks, cooperation between companies, universities and research institutes in the Biotech/Biopharma industry in Poland and other countries will be presented. Biopharmaceutical companies are constantly looking for new and innovative paths of development of new strategies to transfer their research processes and the development of new models of alliances and alliance networks. For this purpose, they use open innovation models as an additional means of developing new products. Thanks to cooperation with universities in the framework of open innovation alliances, biopharmaceutical companies can significantly reduce risk, costs of research programs, and above all increase the likelihood of better medical therapy for patients, through joint projects with academic researchers focused on identifying disease mechanisms and the development of new drugs. Open Innovation Alliances require greater competences and skills of alliance managers and alliance management tools, particularly in the selection of potential partners, determining the area and development process of the alliance, as well as in the creation and maintenance of alliance networks.