Navigating the Path to Value From Collaborative R&D Efforts: A Multi-case Study of the Innovative Medicines Initiative

Abstract

This qualitative-exploratory research project delves into drivers and impediments to the perceived value from collaborative R&D efforts in the context of addressing large grand health challenges by evaluating multiple projects within the Public-Private Partnership framework called the Innovative Medicines Initiative. With increasing prevalence of unprecedented health challenges, systems and institutions across the globe have increasingly recognized the importance of one collective and shared vision for addressing these together. PublicPrivate Partnerships and other forms of collaborative R&D efforts have been important in this regard and championed by institutions ranging from supranational organizations to private industries and public research organizations. From both a practical and theoretical point of view, there are however challenges with measuring the effectiveness and success of these efforts on the intent of addressing these challenges. Coupled with a fragmented understanding of these efforts, questions remain about what makes these work. By drawing on a multi-case study of eight projects from the Innovative Medicines Initiative, 22 semi-structured interviews, secondary data, and a comprehensive literature review, this thesis offers holistic insights to the overall collaboration process. Findings reveal four groups of drivers and impediments to such collaborative R&D efforts: Organizational factors, Relational factors, Design factors, and Ecosystem factors. Specifically, these groups contain important drivers and impediments to the perceived value of collaborative R&D, offering implications for policymakers and representatives of partnering organizations. By evaluating determinants to perceived value, this thesis contributes with insights on how continuous engagement can be achieved and encouraged through more effective design and implementation strategies, for the subsequent pursuit of long-term societal impact on grand health challenges.