A Recipe for a Successful Collaboration

Many recent advances in the pharmaceutical space are the result of collaboration between drug discoverers and their contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) partners.  

However, regardless of the nature of the drug development project, effort and hard work is needed to ensure the relationship between product sponsor and their outsourced partner is a fruitful and effective one.  

CDMOs work diligently and mindfully to ensure they create the right conditions for productive collaboration, nurturing and evolving processes to maintain the best possible working relationship. This is essential for the creativity and ingenuity necessary for successful product development to flourish.  

Pfizer CentreOne has worked for many years to develop a recipe for successful collaboration with product sponsors and other partners.  

Here are what we’ve identified as the four key ingredients to a fruitful partnership: 

Agility 

Pfizer CentreOne has partnerships that vary in complexity from straightforward supplier relationships to bilateral supply-and-sell agreements.  Regardless of the type of partnership, there will always be challenges – both anticipated and unforeseen – that need to be overcome to deliver a project on time.  

To overcome these effectively, it’s imperative for CDMOs and their partners to be agile and have the resources in place to address any challenges quickly and effectively. At Pfizer CentreOne, we take pride in our agility and ability to pivot to meet our customers’ needs. 

Negotiation 

Every partnership needs attention and care to ensure all stakeholders are moving in the same direction, and this often requires negotiation. Finding common ground and understanding the patient need is at the center of what we do and makes for a smoother relationship. Both parties need to understand what the other wants, and expectations need to be managed for the relationship to work. It’s often the simple conversations that can turn into opportunities to align.  

At Pfizer CentreOne, we work hard to maintain open communication with our customers, providing a single point of contact and a reliable channel to ask questions or request changes. This is essential to ensure we continue to provide our partners with the support they need in a timely fashion. 

Transparency 

Regardless of the size or complexity of the relationship, transparent communication and honesty are essential to maintain trust between partners.  

Frequent communication about progress and challenges is vital to address problems before projects are delayed or to confirm project goals continue to be achievable and realistic. Openness can go a long way towards ensuring projects run smoothly and strengthening the relationship. 

Simplicity 

Everyone wants to aim for simple and straightforward communication and processes, but it isn’t always that easy to achieve. Conversely, opting to maintain the operational status quo because it seems simpler and more straightforward may result in greater complexity further down the road.  

At Pfizer CentreOne, we believe in being bold when establishing ways of working with our partners. We regularly review our operations which allows us opportunities to find new, more efficient processes that can help reduce costs and make the relationship stronger.  

Always prepared to reformulate the recipe

Relationships evolve over time and the ideal partners are always prepared to adapt to meet customers’ changing needs.  

The four ingredients above can go a long way towards building strong relationships with partners. By leveraging all of them together, we can ensure that our partnerships continue to deliver medicines to patients who need them.   

To find out more about how Pfizer CentreOne can support your project, contact us today.