Consortium Sandbox: Building and Sharing Resources

Abstract

Some common challenges of biomedical product translation-scientif c, regulatory, adoption, and reimbursement-can best be addressed by the broad sharing of resources or tools. But, such aids remain undeveloped because the undertaking requires expertise from multiple research sectors as well as validation across organizations. Biomedical resource development can benef t from directed consortia-a partnership framework that provides neutral and temporary collaborative environments for several, oftentimes competing, organizations and leverages the aggregated intellect and resources of stakeholders so as to create versatile solutions. By analyzing 369 biomedical research consortia, we tracked consortia growth around the world and gained insight into how this partnership model advances biomedical research. Our analyses suggest that research-by-consortium provides benef t to biomedical science, but the model needs further optimization before it can be fully integrated into the biomedical research pipeline. from the European Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), a multination funding program that aims to stimulate and support networked research within this continent. Of the 183 total biomedical research consortia (61%) launched in the European Union between 2007 and 2013, 111 were supported with FP7 funding, which includes those associated with IMI. Using broad categoriesacademia, government, health care organizations, industry, nonprof t foundations, and third-party organizations (table S2)-we assessed the types of organizations responsible for initiating consortia and found that government agencies were responsible for initiating the majority of the 369 consortia cataloged, followed by third-party organizations and industry ( Fig. 2A). Data on trends by year (Fig. 2B) suggested that industry has increased initiation of its own consortia, with two-thirds of industry-initiated consortia launched between 2007 and 2013 supported by IMI.Of all biomedical research consortia launched in Europe, ~58% operated under strategic research plans that were def ned by a government agency. T is level of government involvement is considerable compared with that of North America (24%); in Asia, government agencies initiated six of nine consortia. Scientif c needs were not the only driver of collaboration; 36% of all government-initiated consortia had secondary objectives of economic development, and ~20% of the 369 consortia sought to advance regulatory science through the participation of a regulatory of cial in the consortium's research or on an oversight committee (7).Mechanisms of collaboration. T e m o dels used to structure a consortium ref ect the requirements of their sponsors, complexity of the science being pursued, resources available, type of output expected, and methods for sharing output with the public. Despite these dif erences, we found some common features among the collaboration models used by the 369 consortia studied. T e majority of consortia had clear mission statements outlining the targeted deliverables and timefra...

Reflections on the Future of Pharmaceutical Public-Private Partnerships: From Input to Impact

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