Baringa talks to Cancer Research Horizons, Cancer Research UK’s innovation arm, on how strategic partnerships are transforming healthcare

In the latest episode of Baringa’s Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences podcast, Joshua Elliott, Director at Baringa, a global management consulting firm, sits down with Beatrice Lana, Strategic Alliance Executive at Cancer Research Horizons (CRH), to explore how strategic partnerships across the healthcare and life sciences ecosystem are accelerating innovation and delivering transformative therapies to patients. Research shows that while 85% of biopharma executives view partnerships as business-critical, around half report failure rates exceeding 60%. Baringa is on a mission to help life sciences organisations get partnering right, and in this episode, listeners hear how CRH navigates these challenges to accelerate innovation and deliver transformative therapies to patients.

The conversation delves into the challenges and opportunities of partnering across academia, biotech, biopharma, and charities. Listeners will learn about practical tools and best practices that make strategic partnerships successful, including alliance management frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and aligning diverse operational cultures. The episode also highlights CRH’s notable alliances, including the long-term partnership with iOnctura, the Functional Genomics Centre collaboration with AstraZeneca, and the recently launched Diamond Light Source alliance. These examples demonstrate how pooling expertise, infrastructure, and resources can unlock the “1+1=3” effect – where the combined impact of collaboration exceeds what any organisation could achieve alone.

Reflecting on her experience, Beatrice Lana shares:

It’s amazing what happens when people stop competing and really start collaborating as suddenly progress becomes possible.