When the clinical and research enterprises at an academic medical center are strategically and tactically aligned, they enter a “virtuous cycle,” described by Stephen Wartman, president of the Association of Academic Health Centers. Clinician-researchers embody it: They know their patients’ needs, what treatments are available and the frustration when those options are insufficient. They take clinical problems back to the lab to figure out solutions, and are highly motivated to develop products because their goal begins and ends with helping the patient.

The academic medical center is the epicenter of therapeutic development. It’s where potential drug targets are identified and mapped from animal models to human tissues, and where clinical trials will ultimately take place. Yet, in the past, pharmaceutical and biotech companies have driven drug development, while academia has been a piecemeal contributor …

In almost every conversation I have these days with potential industry partners, I hear what seems to be the new buzz phrase: “Clear path to clinic.” A molecule with a “clear path to clinic” can become a medicine quickly, by virtue of a well-defined patient population, clear endpoints for clinical trials and measurable biomarkers.

Industry is increasingly recognizing that investigators at academic research centers know this path to clinic best. This has brought a shift in how industry interacts with academia, and new and equitable partnership structures are poised to facilitate joint therapeutic development like never before.

Pharma companies have a strong incentive to change. …