Enduring Alliance

This category recognizes collaborative relationships—such as alliances, ecosystems, partnerships, channels, or networks—that have demonstrated longevity and maturity.

Eligible collaborations are those that are well-established, have advanced through the alliance life cycle, or have successfully completed it (including those with a successful exit). The focus is on enduring partnerships that exemplify sustained commitment, adaptability, and the consistent application of alliance management best practices to achieve or exceed predefined goals.

Past Recipients

2024 - Kyowa Kirin and Amgen Alliance

The Kyowa Kirin and Amgen Alliance stands as a pioneering partnership in the biopharmaceutical industry, marking four decades of continuous collaboration since its founding in 1984. This alliance has delivered eight partnered programs, including five blockbuster drugs with annual sales exceeding $1 billion, and has served millions of patients across more than 100 global markets.

Rooted in a “One Team Mentality,” the alliance has fostered transparency, openness, and mutual respect, blending the entrepreneurial spirit and scientific expertise of both companies. Regular joint science meetings, internship exchanges, and cultural sensitivity training have helped maintain strong connections and shared values, while robust governance and executive sponsorship have ensured strategic alignment and enduring success.

The partnership’s impact extends beyond commercial achievements. It has advanced innovative therapies for unmet medical needs, enabled cost-sharing and risk mitigation, and contributed to the strategic growth of both organizations. Amgen’s independence as a biotech leader and Kyowa Kirin’s evolution into a full-fledged pharmaceutical business are direct outcomes of this collaboration.

The alliance’s openness is reflected in its willingness to share lessons learned, with leaders publicly recognizing the partnership’s influence in shaping their companies. Publications, autobiographies, and industry presentations have highlighted the alliance as a model for cross-cultural collaboration and strategic value creation.

2023 - Cancer Research Horizons and AstraZeneca Alliance

The Cancer Research Horizons-AstraZeneca Antibody Alliance Laboratory (AAL) stands out as a long-established, high-impact partnership between Cancer Research Horizons (CRH) and AstraZeneca (AZ), dedicated to advancing antibody therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer patients. Established in 2014 and extended in 2019, the alliance leverages CRH’s academic networks and AZ’s expertise in antibody development, fostering innovation through a shared laboratory and integrated management structure.

Key features include a communal lab space near Cambridge, UK, where CRH scientists and AZ secondees collaborate daily, creating a “third culture” that encourages bottom-up innovation. The alliance’s governance is robust, with joint committees overseeing scientific review, resource allocation, and strategic direction, ensuring transparency and responsiveness.

The alliance has delivered significant outcomes: 16 antibody projects, four intellectual property positions, and the development of a first-in-class therapeutic candidate for cancer and non-cancer indications. Notably, AZ exercised its option to in-license a novel antibody therapeutic, demonstrating the alliance’s ability to translate academic research into impactful patient therapies.

Distinctively, the alliance is open-ended in project sourcing, disease and mechanism agnostic, and actively engages new academic and commercial collaborators. Its openness is reflected in frequent workshops, webinars, and presentations, sharing lessons and fostering new partnerships across the scientific community.

Overall, the AAL exemplifies alliance excellence through its collaborative culture, strategic alignment, and tangible impact on cancer research and patient care. (Read blog post for more details)

2022 - Bayer and Evotec Alliance

The Bayer and Evotec alliance stands out as a long-established, high-impact partnership in pharmaceutical research and development. Since its inception, the alliance has systematically expanded beyond its initial contract, now involving several hundred scientists and exceeding $1 billion in deal volume. Key to its success is a rigorous partner selection process, ensuring complementary expertise and compatible cultures, summarized as “different enough to synergize, but similar enough to harmonize.”

The alliance is distinguished by its innovative governance and financial models, including milestone-based rewards that encourage joint success and risk-sharing. Senior management from both organizations are deeply engaged throughout the alliance life cycle, fostering efficient decision-making and strategic alignment. The alliance has evolved into a network, incorporating additional parties and sites to address increasingly complex research challenges.

Best practices such as team recognition programs, staff exchanges, and alliance awards have been institutionalized, motivating teams and individuals while promoting collaborative behavior. These practices have been adopted across Bayer and Evotec, with the alliance serving as a role model for others.

The alliance’s impact is demonstrated by a continuous flow of project milestones, advancing multiple assets to clinical development and building world-leading early project portfolios. Both partners benefit: Bayer from pipeline impact and Evotec from financial milestones. The alliance’s openness is reflected in its proactive sharing of lessons learned through conferences, publications, and community engagement, contributing to the broader ASAP alliance management community.

In summary, the Bayer-Evotec alliance exemplifies excellence through strategic collaboration, innovative management, and a commitment to sharing knowledge and best practices with the industry.

2021 - Astellas and Pfizer Alliance

The XTANDI Alliance, a collaboration between Astellas and Pfizer (originally Medivation), has had a transformative impact on prostate cancer treatment and alliance management in biopharma. Since its inception in 2009, the alliance developed and globally launched enzalutamide (XTANDI), treating over 540,000 patients and generating $3.8 billion in annual revenue. XTANDI holds first place in market share for prostate cancer therapies, with four approved indications and ongoing clinical trials.

Strategically, the alliance enabled Astellas to establish its oncology division and provided Pfizer with entry into prostate cancer after acquiring Medivation for $14 billion. The alliance’s governance and operational practices—such as consensus decision-making, continuous improvement via third-party assessments, and a “one-team” mindset—have set new standards for collaboration. The alliance directors played a pivotal role, ensuring seamless transitions, effective risk management, and alignment across partners, even during major organizational changes.

Innovations include elevating Medical Affairs to equal governance status, creating the Enzalutamide Scientific Platform for unified scientific messaging, and implementing the VitalSigns Alliance Operations Effectiveness Assessment for actionable improvement. The alliance’s openness is reflected in its willingness to share best practices at industry conferences and through publications.

2020 - Ipsen and Debiopharm Alliance

2019 - Novartis and Incyte Alliance

2014 -Eli Lilly and Covance Alliance

Formed on a foundation of trust and strategic leadership engagement, the partnership between Eli Lilly and Covance (now LabCorp)transformed from a transactional relationship into a fully integrated operating model with a collaborative culture. Clear governance, defined roles, cultural alignment, and robust communication practices have enabled the alliance to consistently exceed expectations over five years, despite the complexity of managing thousands of studies and molecules across all phases of drug development.

The alliance is innovative in its approach to integration and process improvement. A tailored onboarding program ensured a 98% retention rate of transferred employees, fostering cultural cohesion. Joint teams have pioneered methodologies that cut cycle times by up to 50%, implemented paperless transactions for thousands of studies, and leveraged technology such as instant messaging and advanced clinical development tools to enhance efficiency and quality. These innovations set new industry standards and demonstrate the alliance’s commitment to continuous improvement.

The impact is profound: a 10-year, $1.6 billion agreement, transfer of 250 employees, and sale of a major research facility created strategic value for both partners while driving economic growth in Indiana—adding over 564 jobs and $102 million in annual output. Operationally, the alliance has completed over 11,000 studies, accelerated timelines, and introduced new services, improving drug development efficiency and patient access to medicines. Both companies actively share best practices through conferences and publications, reinforcing openness and advancing alliance management across the industry.

This alliance stands out for its scale, strategic alignment, and ability to deliver measurable business, community, and industry impact.

2013 - SAS and Teradata Alliance

The SAS and Teradata Global Alliance, established in 2007, is recognized for its long-standing, exemplary partnership in big data analytics. Driven by a shared vision from both companies’ CEOs, the alliance has evolved through annual strategic planning and robust governance, aligning people, processes, and technology. Their collaboration features peer-to-peer alignment across key functions, unified offer realization, and joint pipeline management, ensuring transparency and efficiency.

Key governance practices include a Center of Excellence (CoE) for solution architects, a Product Advisory Council (PAC) for customer-driven innovation, and formalized tools for pipeline and sales engagement. The partnership’s innovative programs—such as the Analytic Heroes Program, Business Analytic Innovation Center (BAIC), and the Advantage Program—have set industry benchmarks. Notably, the Analytic Advantage Program and High-Performance Analytics (HPA) for Teradata have delivered integrated solutions, enabling rapid, scalable analytics directly within Teradata’s database environment.

The alliance’s impact is substantial: over $200M in joint revenue, 400+ customer engagements, and significant business improvements for clients like Telstra, Cabela’s, and Williams-Sonoma. Customers report dramatic performance gains and double-digit growth, while the partnership itself has doubled revenue year-over-year.

Openness is a core value, exemplified by daily co-location, transparent communication, and a “Speak the Unspeakable” culture. Joint tools, meetings, and marketing efforts foster collaboration and trust, even in competitive scenarios. The alliance’s shared portfolio management and coverage model, along with joint customer programs and press releases, further highlight its commitment to openness and mutual success.

2010 - Itanium Solutions Alliance