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Navigating Academia-Industry Collaborations: Insightful Experiences & Essential Advice

Learn from firsthand experiences on effectively bridging academia and the pharmaceutical industry, with practical advice on understanding both sides, managing expectations, and ensuring successful collaborations. Tips for academics considering partnerships with companies and insights into differing goals, legal aspects, and communication strategies. Crucial information on short-term and long-term collaborations, decision-making processes, and the importance of clear contracts.

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Navigating Academia-Industry Collaborations: Insightful Experiences & Essential Advice

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  1. Per J. Kraulis Interactions between academia and the pharmaceutical industrySome experiences on understanding the other side

  2. Academia and Industry • Pharmaceuticals, medicine, biotech • In general: Good relations • Last 10-15 years: Growing closer • Many opportunities for collaboration

  3. My background • 1994-2000 Pharmacia & Upjohn • Drug discovery, target characterization • 2000-2003 Stockholm University • Stockholm Bioinformatics Center • 2003-2005 Biovitrum • Drug discovery, bioinformatics

  4. Discovery Research • Identification of potential drug target • Bioinformatics • Functional genomics • Validation in disease model • Identification of lead compounds • Compound optimization • Clinical aspects: limited experience

  5. Collaboration experience • Service for fee • Consultant • Academic project, company aspect • Joint project

  6. Advice and remarks • To the academic considering entering a collaboration with a company • Main focus: What can go wrong? • And how to avoid it • I am not sceptical about collaborations!

  7. Collaboration? Consider… • Company goals vs. academic goals • Time frame of project • Company decision making • Legal aspects: contracts

  8. Academia vs. Industry:Different ultimate goals! • Academia • Knowledge • Publication • Grants, support • New research • Industry • Information • Products • Sales • Market share • Share price • Profit

  9. Collaboration: What does it mean? • Many different variants • Service for fee • Purchase material/knowledge • Consultant • True joint project • ... • Watch out! Avoid misunderstandings

  10. Make expectations clear! • Unstated expectations: source of conflict • Dialog needed for understanding • State requests clearly from start • Not: "I need X. Now I need Y… And Z…" (JL) • Is the collaborator honest about goals?

  11. Dialog essential • What does the other party want? • Discuss foreseeable problems • Publication • Failure • Quitting prematurely • …

  12. What do you want? • Money • Support, payment, consultant • Salary for lab staff • Resources • Access to machines, methods • Materials, samples • Expertise, network • Results, data • Publications

  13. What does the company want? • Service for fee • Resources • Information • Access to methods • Expertise, network • Samples, materials • Development of idea or method • Goodwill, PR • Access to expertise, network

  14. Shorter collaboration • Time frame: weeks, months • Well-defined task and result • Simple agreement may work • Written (one page, email) • If recurrent: Draw up contract

  15. Longer collaboration 1 • Time frame: years • Dialog to understand expectations • Non-Disclosure Agreement • Disclose awkward data • Build trust: initial pre-project?

  16. Longer collaboration 2 • Contract essential, and difficult • Verbal agreement not good enough! • Define: • Goals, milestones • Management • Ownership • Data and results • Methods • Publication policy

  17. Time frames in industry • Depends on company situation • Profitable, stable, large: longer • Startup, no product, small: shorter • Usually < 3 years • Problem for Ph.D. student projects • May change drastically • Change of focus • Adverse events

  18. Company decision making • Who negotiates for the company? • Who signs the contract? • Formal company contact • Committee or person? • Responsibilities and powers? • Real company contact • Trust

  19. The reality of company decision making • Companies are not monoliths • There are conflicts in companies • Company policy may change abruptly • New CEO or CSO • Internal problems • Project failure • External pressure • Competition

  20. Plan for change • Minimze the risks of collaboration • Get payments in parts during lengthy project • Plan how to stop the project • The contract: your safety net • Forces the discussion • Talk things through first, then agree • For "bad weather conditions" • But: reputation may be more important

  21. Contracts are important • Professional legal advice • Within University? • Consultant • Standard contracts • Help from other academics • Friendly agreement: may work...

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