Reviews as value multipliers for collaborative innovation ventures
The IMI funded T2EVOLVE project just published online two comprehensive review articles on preclinical models to predict the efficacy (1) and the toxicity (2) of engineered cell therapy. Preclinical modelling of engineered cell therapy is a good example of how complicated biology has to be disentangled to achieve a faster pace of innovation and narrow the translational gap.
As highlighted in the articles one of the biggest challenges is reflecting the effects of the immune system. In other words, one has to grapple with complicated biology. But, it’s not about making it simple. That’s not possible. Integrating the thoughts of multiple experts with the findings of published research helps those developing new therapies get a better grip on what has to be done to generate the evidence needed to move from proof of concept to first in human studies.
One of the underappreciated values of collaborative ventures is the learning that happens. As Olivier Laureau president, Servier and second vice president, EFPIA has written:
Within Servier, collaboration with academia as well as other innovative companies has been seen as an incredible opportunity to learn from each other and better answer patients’ needs (3).
It is this sentiment that drives their participation in collaborative initiatives such as the IMI. Therefore it is no surprise that the industry leader for T2EVOLVE is Helene Negre from Servier. When BioSci Consulting helped the consortium design the project, it was not exactly clear that spending the effort to come together to compose articles such as these was what researchers wanted to do.
Now that the articles are completed, it is clear that such efforts, along with efforts to approach regulators, early in the project serve as a means of learning together which also strengthens the collaboration. More important is the fact such articles help make the whole field of engineered cell therapy more efficient. The process and the articles themselves multiply the value of working together.
This is why we advocate for the inclusion of efforts to collectively create such value multipliers in the design of new collaborative ventures. One is not limited to only including such efforts in the design phase. In fact, we like to think of any complex collaborative venture as a process of continual design where new ideas and new collaborations are constantly being developed. If you would like to know how to build new collaborative or transform existing collaborative ventures into dynamic systems that become an ongoing source of meaningful collaborations and impact get in touch.
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Guedan S, Luu M, Ammar D, et al Time 2EVOLVE: predicting efficacy of engineered T-cells – how far is the bench from the bedside?
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2022;10:e003487. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003487
Donnadieu E, Luu M, Alb M, et al Time to evolve: predicting engineered T cell-associated toxicity with next-generation models
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2022;10:e003486. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003486
(Why innovation matters to the research ecosystem: looking at the future of health care – POLITICO)
