The vision of Life Science Leader is to help facilitate connections and foster collaborations in pharma and med device development to get more life-saving and life-improving therapies to market in an efficient manner. Connect, Collaborate, Contribute
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leaders EXCLUSIVE LIFE SCIENCE FEATURE LIFESCIENCELEADER.COM JUNE 2014 48 Just plug it in and play Harness the Power of the Network with TruBio ® Bioreactor Control Software Control all processes with one interface from any location Consolidate data into one common historian database Harmonize diverse legacy systems from R&D; to cGMP production Harmonize constituents. Matching partners' vision and goals also often requires managing the expectations of their various constituents. Foundations have their patient, contributor, and scientific groups to satisfy. Companies have investors and shareholders, boards, reg- ulators, and so on. It's an ongoing challenge, but both sides can anticipate many of the challenges by communicating and defining realistic expectations during the partnership's conception and thereafter. CHOWDHURY: You don't want to alienate your bases, so while you may begin to do more with industry, you want to make sure it's not at the expense of impor- tant activities in academic research labs. Managing patients' expectations is always critical, but the need varies between disease areas and foundations based on the state of the science. At MJFF, we are very optimistic, because the pipeline in Parkinson's disease is incredibly robust. But we are also very grounded in reality. We explain to our patient and supporter community how difficult drug development is and how much is still unknown about the disease. Still, you don't need to know everything to find a solution. Experience in partnering with foundations at his previous and current companies tempered one executive's enthusiasm with a clear-eyed view of partnering challenges and taught him the need for discernment among the diversity of foundations, a wider view of partnering goals, and an adherence to high principles. ANDREW GENGOS President And CEO, Immunocellular Therapeutics: The patient populations and not-for-prof- it disease groups out there are all very dif- ferent. Some are way ahead in thinking about formal relationships with industry in drug development, and others are in their infancy. If your company is work- ing on a particular disease, you have to understand the landscape of groups that are focused on that disease. I wanted to position our company with the right group that would provide support and potentially amplify our influence with Congress and the FDA. What I finally settled on were the grassroots patient groups. The reciprocity for your partner is honesty about your company and your drug development. You have to be honest, transparent, and build a trust-based rela- tionship. And you've got to be genuinely caring about their plight, as individuals and as a group, so if you ever need their support, they will be there for you. Thus ends part one of our four-part series. Watch for part two, "Resource Alignment," in next month's Life Science Leader. Many thanks to Travis Blaschek-Miller at BayBio for his help with this article series. L VOICES OF BAYBIO'S "SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS" SURVEY By W. Koberstein 0 6 1 4 _ B a y b i o 3 . i n d d 5 0614_Baybio3.indd 5 5 / 2 1 / 2 0 1 4 1 : 0 0 : 0 8 P M 5/21/2014 1:00:08 PM