Developing a ‘Bench to Bedside’ Commercial Collaboration Jo Chambers

Birmingham Health Partners ITM

Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM) Birmingham, UK £12m Government funding for new Institute of Translational Medicine University and Hospital to match the capital funding - £24m scheme Basic research and scientific discovery Clinical trials – big patient cohorts Industry collaborations and commercialisation Economic growth and high-value job creation over next 5 years+ Patient benefits Co-location of activities speeds up the cycle of discovery, trials and commercial mainstreaming BASIC RESEARCH CLINICAL TRIALS CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS/ EXPERIMENTAL- EARLY PHASE STUDIES EFFECTIVENESS/ POLICY DEVELOPMENT/ IMPLEMENTATION PATIENT/ POP’N HEALTH Patients

Problem Definition ITM based on 3 concepts: –Community - bringing clinicians, academics and industry partners together –Capacity - developing state of the art research and education facilities –Commercial - creating a single portal for industry collaborations; a ‘Commercial Hub’ The Problem is: There was no agreement about how the new ‘Commercial Hub’ will work to support the strategy of creating a viable ITM in Birmingham.

Objectives Overall objective – to develop a common statement of purpose and guiding principles for the Commercial Hub that all key stakeholders can sign up to, from which a viable commercial framework can be developed. Within timescale for the Yale- SEPT Programme: –By Scope stakeholder views and aspirations –By Draft a discussion document proposing a way forward that satisfies researchers, clinical academics and business partners, and achieves financial viability

Root Cause Analysis Key Findings High-level agreement on the ITM concept of co-location BUT, different perspectives, needs and expectations from stakeholders and partners. Different perspectives not explicitly addressed in the overall strategy and no agreed mutual goals, leading to the view that “people were going off and doing their own thing”. Lack of clarity about how to optimise the opportunity of the ITM.

Problem-Solving Strategy The Root Cause Analysis identified a potential risk to the success of the ITM through lack of clearly agreed mutual goals; this must be addressed as a priority Different perspectives have been constructively surfaced so build on that positive, open climate –acknowledge the legitimacy of the differences Develop a coherent statement of overall purpose that will provide a framework for all supporting strategies, such as Research and Development, Education and Training/ courses conferences and the ‘Commercial Hub’ concept Return to the original problem and establish a commercial framework for the Commercial Hub

Next Steps – Implementation Plan ActionsLead/ GovernanceTimescale Continue informal discussions with key opinion formers JCOn-going Support lead clinicians on the Clinical Academic Strategy and Commercial workstreams JC Project Workstreams reporting to Project Board On-going Project workstreams initiated with clear Terms of Reference Project Manager and workstream clinical leads End of June 2013 Use the formal project structure to bring issues together for collective resolution JC and workstream clinical leads through overall Project Board End of August 2013 Use a facilitative style to support development of ‘leadership team’ across organisational boundaries JC and Project DirectorOn-going but particular effort required during June to August period Return to the original brief and develop the Commercial Hub concept JC and workstream clinical lead End of September 2013

Evaluation Process Measures Initiate formal project workstreams Develop agreed work programme to include time for relevant discussions Develop framework documents based on discussions Seek collective solutions by referring matters to the overall Project Group Ensure ITM commissioning plan adheres to timetable Outcome Measures Overall purpose of ITM agreed by all partners Strategic objectives/ mutual goals agreed ‘Operating Principles’ agreed Commercial Framework agreed Collaborative style of working exists Industry partners choose the ITM as the primary collaborative vehicle for new product development

Reflections and Learning The problem solving process identified a different problem that had not received sufficient explicit attention and required resolution first – be clear about the problem There were unstated ‘taken for granted’ assumptions and aspirations that were not aligned across a complex stakeholder landscape – confirm expectations of group members Leadership in this context is not hierarchical; partners are choosing to collaborate and each party needs something out of the arrangement – facilitative leadership and relationship management is required The leadership ‘team’ for the ITM is still forming and this will be drawn from various organisations – effort needs to go into building trust and confidence, and establish normative behaviours in the group We have avoided becoming ‘accidental adversaries’ because of this project - I have learnt not to make assumptions but to ask questions and seek clarification before launching into a new project.