Challenges for innovation cooperation in the biopharmaceutical industry during the Covid-19 pandemic

Purpose: This chapter seeks to verify the development of new partnerships and R&D alliances in the biopharmaceutical industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also to present the related challenges for innovation cooperation. Design/methodology/approach: The main method applied in this research was scientific study, meaning that the study applied descriptive, comparative, documentation, and desk research methods, along with deductive and inductive forecasting. Findings: The text presents new partnerships undertaken by biopharma companies (in and outside the industry) in order to face the pandemic and to discover and deliver anew vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 to the market. Moreover, the chapter describes the research projects in the European Union focused on the Covid-19 pandemic defeating. Thanks to more flexible and open cooperation, companies will greatly support the possibility to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic faster. Practical Implications: We should consider that due to the current situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the cooperation of companies and all entities in the biopharmaceutical R&D innovation ecosystem is even more challenging than before. Moreover, we should remember that the organizational fluidity of open innovation initiatives and multiparty relations increases the complexity of alliance management. The use of an open innovation model can significantly hasten the production process of new drugs and vaccines. Originality and value: Biopharma-university alliances can significantly increase the likelihood of creating better medical therapies for patients. Results of such cooperation enable a number of innovative projects, given the significant pressure on innovativeness and challenges caused by the pandemic. Using the latest IT technologies will allow physicians to even better monitor, diagnose, and care for patients with afocus on the patient-centered approach.