Developing a Framework to Manage a Pharmaceutical Innovation Ecosystem: Collaboration Archetypes, Open Innovation Tools, and Strategies

Based on an in-depth case study of the ecosystem of one of the world ́s largest healthcare companies including internal and external data collected since 2009, and through over 50 interviews with key stakeholders from Biotech companies, Academia, Contract Research Organizations, and Venture Capital firms this article elaborates on the challenges and opportunities of collaborative innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. As firms prepare for more open approaches towards new product development we recognize that the variety and frequency of possible models for co-development has increased and poses respective challenges to the management of all partners and tools involved in this “ecosystem”. In the first step of developing our framework, we carve out core management and organizational aspects of collaboration including risk management, success measurement, options of professional partnership management, and level of organizational involvement. In a second step we identify the variety of partnership models and open innovation tools in biopharmaceuticals, creating four different archetypes of open innovation: Insight-, Workbench-, Access-, and Developmenttools. In step three we conclude with strategy relevant patterns in open innovation by allocating the tool-archetypes along the important management aspects in a consolidated matrix. The potential strategy implications and options can be considered by managers planning and implementing open innovation, and by scholars conducting further open innovation ecosystem research. Acknowledgment The support for conducting interviews and generating data by Esther-Kristin Lather is gratefully acknowledged. We thank all interview partners from participating companies and organizations.