A Shared Commitment is Key in Partnerships, says Ken Keller of Daiichi Sankyo, at the US Pharma and Biotech Summit

At the US Pharma and Biotech Summit on May 16, 2024, BioPharm International® sat down with Ken Keller, CEO of Daiichi Sankyo to talk about how productive partnerships in the bio/pharmaceutical industry are created. A shared commitment to the therapeutic area is essential, says Keller. “If it's strategically important to your partner, then it usually works out very, very well.”

Relevant experience in the therapeutic area is also important. “Specifically, we work in oncology. So, if we're looking at a drug that has potential in breast cancer, we'll be looking for someone that's showing success in oncology in breast cancer very recently.”

Challenges involved in creating partnerships for developing therapies include creating a clinical data plan and committing to developing a stable supply chain going forward, Keller points out. “[A clinical data plan] is really the roadmap for whatever asset you have, that looks out five or 10 years, because sometimes it takes that long to complete the trials and the challenges, you've got to design them to deliver the evidence that not only prescribers will find attractive, but also payers.”

“I think it starts with the CEO and the C suite, doing something that only they can do. So as a leader, you've got to set the expectations for how bold you want that team to be,” says Keller. “The most important thing when two companies decide that they're going to do something together, is to really find a cohesive relationship, where you both believe that you can do more together than separately.”