The best of both worlds: innovation, collaboration and synergy between CROs and their client partners Highlights from the Society for Medicines Research symposium Stevenage, UK - September 26, 2018

Due to increasing scientific complexity, rising research and development (R&D) costs and more challenging market dynamics, the pharmaceutical industry continues to seek novel ways to increase productivity and success rates in the pursuit of new therapies for human disease. Biotech and pharma companies are engaging ever more closely with their partner contract research organizations (CROs), in the design and development of new and transformational therapeutics. The meeting showcased innovation in science that has emerged from several successful client-CRO partnerships which have moved beyond fee-for-service agreements, toward much broader risk-sharing and complementary collaborations. The case studies presented demonstrated this new ecosystem for research, that combines top-tier science and best collaboration practices, could be one factor in increasing R&D success. Presentations, mainly given jointly by client and partner scientists, covered several different facets of such relationships, including the underlying high-quality science, access to unique technology, insourcing, organizational and cultural change and pharma companies reinventing themselves as CROs, alongside chemistry and medicinal chemistry partnerships. Supporting the oral presentations, there was a poster session which widened the scope of the science and collaborations under review. This symposium was held at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Conference Centre, Stevenage, UK, and hosted by GSK.