Emerging Alliance
Previously known as the Alliance Emerging Star Award
This award recognizes a collaborative relationship, such as an alliance, ecosystem, partnership, channel, or network, that has successfully navigated the initial phases of the ASAP alliance life cycle.
Honorees will have demonstrated the effective application and adaptation of ASAP best practices during the early stages of collaboration, including strategy development, partner selection, negotiation, design, and launch. The award celebrates those who have provided clear evidence of alliance management’s contribution to moving the collaboration forward, creating initial success, and generating value.
Past Recipients
2024 - Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Alliance
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, together with Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals, was honored with the 2024 ASAP Individual Alliance Excellence Award for their outstanding cross-cultural partnership in drug development. The alliance began in May 2022, with both companies embarking on the clinical trial development of a novel sleep agent. What set this collaboration apart was the intentional investment in cultural understanding and trust from the outset. Jazz recognized that many of its team members had limited experience working outside Western norms, so they implemented comprehensive cross-cultural training for everyone involved. This training, which covered Japanese decision-making, harmony, and communication styles, helped bridge differences and fostered mutual respect.
Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 restrictions, the alliance prioritized early face-to-face meetings in Tokyo and Dublin, which laid the groundwork for a strong, collaborative relationship. Weekly management meetings began even before the contract was signed, ensuring open communication and proactive problem-solving. Innovative practices, such as simultaneous translation and role-aligned introductions, enabled both sides to overcome language barriers and cultural differences, resulting in additional contracts and deeper cooperation.
The impact of this alliance was profound. It delivered significant milestones in less than two years, tightly aligning with both companies’ strategic goals. The alliance managers played a pivotal role in adapting processes, expediting reviews, and fostering a culture of open, blame-free collaboration. Jazz has since incorporated the lessons learned from this partnership into its leadership training, sharing best practices with the broader industry and reinforcing its commitment to transparency and innovation.
2023 - Novobird Hemophilia Gene Editing Alliance
The Novobird Alliance, a collaboration between Novo Nordisk and 2seventy bio, exemplifies alliance excellence through its ambitious goal: developing a novel gene editing therapy for hemophilia A, aiming for a lifelong cure for a severe genetic disease. This partnership stands out for its true co-creation, with both companies contributing proprietary technologies, complementary skills, and a shared vision that neither could achieve alone. The alliance adopted an atypical contracting structure, initiating joint research before finalizing commercial terms, which accelerated scientific exploration and alliance maturation.
Best practices were embedded from the outset—strategic alignment, joint governance, shared risk/reward incentives, and functional mapping fostered trust and enabled effective conflict resolution. The alliance’s joint project team structure, frequent communication, and adaptive planning allowed rapid decision-making and resource allocation, even in the face of setbacks like program delays, budget increases, and organizational restructures.
Distinctively, the alliance managed unprecedented complexity, integrating four component technologies and multiple third-party relationships. A staged contracting approach enabled early research and proof-of-concept development, balancing risk and reward for both partners.
The impact is tangible: Novo Nordisk created a new research unit dedicated to RNA & Gene Therapy, and alliance health checks have driven trust and open communication, supporting strategic decisions and investment. The alliance’s openness is demonstrated by proactive sharing of its vision and lessons learned in scientific, patient, and regulatory forums, helping to shape industry standards for gene editing therapies.
2022 - Deloitte and Genpact Alliance
The Deloitte and Genpact strategic global alliance stands out as a model of high-impact collaboration, recognized by ASAP for its exemplary results and innovative practices. In just over two years, this partnership generated over $200M in joint total contract value and built a pipeline exceeding $1B, spanning more than 15 deals across diverse industries including consumer products, banking, life sciences, manufacturing, insurance, and media.
What makes this alliance distinctive is its robust joint management framework: a dedicated PMO, formalized sales engagement, weekly pipeline meetings, and regular executive connects ensure strategic alignment and transparency. The alliance storefront highlights ten areas of maximum impact, supported by comprehensive planning playbooks and joint solution development processes like Genpact’s JOIN methodology.
Collaboration is further strengthened by unique social capital initiatives—many Genpact alliance managers have prior Deloitte experience, fostering cultural alignment and seamless teamwork. Flexible commercial constructs and integrated marketing campaigns, including the widely viewed “Power of Connection” video, have amplified the alliance’s market presence and driven significant engagement.
The partnership’s openness is reflected in its willingness to share best practices, frameworks, and lessons learned with other organizations, contributing to industry advancement. With over 125 joint account calls, 50+ account plans, and a balanced scorecard approach to measuring success, the Deloitte–Genpact alliance exemplifies how strategic partnerships can deliver transformative value for clients and set new standards for alliance excellence.
2021 - CRUK and iOnctura Alliance
The Cancer Research UK (CRUK) - iOnctura alliance is a strategic partnership between a leading cancer charity and a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. This innovative alliance was formed to accelerate the discovery and development of next-generation immuno-oncology treatments by combining CRUK’s research expertise with iOnctura’s drug development capabilities. The alliance stands out for its unique business model: CRUK received equity in iOnctura as a form of license payment, an unusual but forward-thinking approach for a charity.
Key achievements include advancing one program into Phase I clinical trials and another into late-preclinical development, with iOnctura raising €21 million in Series A financing to support these efforts. The alliance has generated valuable intellectual property, including two granted patents, and has shared knowledge with the broader scientific community.
Best practices in alliance management have been central to success, with structured governance, clear roles, and regular joint meetings. The alliance adapted its governance to be more flexible, enabling rapid decision-making and efficient problem-solving, which was crucial for both scientific progress and business milestones.
The alliance’s openness is demonstrated by sharing its model and lessons learned through conferences, publications, and an internal alliance management community. This transparency aims to benefit both the partners and the wider field of alliance management.
Overall, the CRUK-iOnctura alliance exemplifies innovation, impact, and best practices in alliance management, delivering tangible benefits for cancer research and patient outcomes.
2020 - Cancer Research UK and Bristol Myers Squibb Alliance
2019 - Akebia Therapeutics and Thermo Fisher Scientific Alliance
2019 - Merck and Sanofi Pasteur Alliance
2014 - Cisco and NetApp Alliance
The Cisco and NetApp alliance was formed with a bold vision to create a market-changing converged infrastructure platform that simplifies IT for mixed workloads in both virtualized and non-virtualized environments. The result was FlexPod, a solution built on best-of-breed technologies, shared culture, and a unified partner ecosystem. In just three years, FlexPod grew from zero revenue to over $1 billion in joint revenue, serving 3,000+ customers globally. IDC recognized FlexPod as the #1 Integrated Infrastructure in 2013, underscoring its rapid success and industry impact.
FlexPod introduced jointly developed reference architectures validated through Cisco’s design methodology, ensuring reliability and scalability. Equally transformative was the Cooperative Support Model, a multi-vendor support framework that replaced the traditional single-call-center approach. This model provides direct access to product experts, formalized escalation processes, and a Cooperative Support Lab for joint troubleshooting and pre-testing solutions. It also includes shared knowledge management systems and ongoing joint training, creating a seamless customer experience. This approach has since been replicated by other vendors, setting a new standard for multi-vendor support.
The alliance not only delivered financial success but also changed industry practices. FlexPod’s flexible, reference-based architecture influenced competitors to move away from rigid appliance models. The Cooperative Support Model redefined customer expectations for multi-vendor solutions, driving adoption across other alliances and shaping future strategies for complex IT ecosystems, including emerging areas like IoT.
Cisco and NetApp actively share best practices through ASAP conferences, webinars, and industry forums. They lead initiatives within TSAnet to improve multi-vendor support standards, demonstrating a commitment to advancing alliance management across industries.
By combining innovation, measurable impact, and openness, the Cisco-NetApp alliance exemplifies how strategic partnerships can transform markets and deliver lasting value.
2011 - Ipsen and Inspiration Pharmaceuticals Alliance
Ipsen’s alliance with Inspiration, announced in 2010, is widely regarded as a groundbreaking partnership in the biopharmaceutical industry. Designed to create a multi-product hemophilia franchise, the alliance exemplifies bold strategic thinking and alliance best practices. Ipsen contributed not only a key asset and significant funding but also senior personnel to Inspiration’s leadership team, fostering deep integration and trust. This “give to get” approach enabled both companies to leverage resources and expertise for maximum impact.
The alliance was unique from inception. Before negotiations, both companies collaborated on a joint business plan to ensure a shared vision—improving patients’ lives through a robust hemophilia portfolio. Ipsen introduced Inspiration to alliance management best practices, sharing its comprehensive 90-page alliance guidebook and forming a cross-functional internal Alliance Team. This team meets regularly to review progress and maintain alignment, a model now replicated across Ipsen’s organization.
Within a year, the alliance achieved major milestones, including advancing a key program to Phase III clinical trials—the final step before regulatory submission. The collaboration reduces risk for Ipsen while expanding its global specialty care footprint and provides Inspiration with the means to commercialize its pipeline. The combined hematology portfolio is projected to exceed $1 billion in sales within a decade. Most importantly, the alliance addresses unmet medical needs, offering simpler, more effective treatment options for patients with life-threatening bleeding disorders. The partnership has even earned endorsement from the World Federation of Hemophilia, highlighting its significance for patient care.
Ipsen demonstrated openness by sharing alliance tools with Inspiration and applying lessons learned across its organization. Clear communication channels and executive-level access have strengthened collaboration, setting a benchmark for transparency and governance in strategic alliances.