The Future of R&D Is Powered by Partnerships
By Dr. Eric A. Hughes, EVP, Global R&D and Chief Medical Officer, with Evan Lippman, EVP, Business Development
The biggest breakthroughs in R&D don’t come from working faster. They come from working differently.
At Teva, we are changing how innovation moves forward across our portfolio of innovative, biosimilar, and generic medicines. A significant part of that shift is how R&D and Business Development work together to align scientific ambition with the right external capabilities so teams can move faster without compromising rigor.
Every partnership decision we make—how it’s structured, how it’s governed, how it evolves—has the potential to impact patients’ lives. That reality shapes dr. Eric Hughes, EVP Global R&D's and CMO's work with Evan Lippman, EVP and Head of Business Development at Teva, and how closely their teams collaborate to drive innovation and impact.
Below, they discuss how partnerships are shaping the future of R&D at Teva.
How have partnerships accelerated the development timeline for medicines?
Eric (EVP, Global R&D and CMO):
"From my perspective, partnerships are first and foremost about expanding scientific capability.
They allow us to combine Teva’s strengths—including protein engineering, translational science, and late‑stage development—with highly specialized expertise. Done well, that combination increases how quickly we learn without sacrificing data quality or scientific integrity. "
Evan (EVP, Business Development):
"From the Business Development side, partnership design is the primary focus to ultimately enable strong scientific decision-making.
Every partnership involves tradeoffs. Our role is to structure agreements around incentives, governance, and decision-making so R&D teams can stay focused on the science rather than navigating complexity created by the deal itself.
That structure only works when it’s built hand‑in‑hand with R&D and Commercial—not in isolation."
When that work is done well upfront, teams move faster later. Momentum follows clarity and that makes a real difference.
What partnerships is Teva leveraging now, and why are they important?
Eric (EVP, Global R&D and CMO):
"Several Phase 3 collaborations show how this approach translates into tangible progress.
With Sanofi, we’re partnering on a TL1A asset for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Advancing this program at scale requires deep immunology expertise and global development capability. Collaborating with Sanofi has allowed us to move forward confidently in a complex and highly competitive disease area.
In neuroscience, our partnership with Medincell brings together its long-acting injectable (LAI) technology with Teva’s development capabilities to advance a late-stage investigational LAI program for adults living with schizophrenia. Together, we are helping to address challenges many patients face in staying on treatment over time."
Evan (EVP, Business Development):
"Speaking of Phase 3 collaborations, our acquisition of Emalex Biosciences is extremely exciting. It added a late-stage, first-in-class investigational asset for pediatric Tourette syndrome to Teva’s pipeline. This agreement reflects our focus on assets with clear strategic fit, strong science, and the potential to address meaningful unmet needs.
Other partnerships show how thoughtful design can create flexibility without disrupting execution.
With Royalty Pharma, we built purpose‑designed agreements to support a late‑stage schizophrenia program and advance an IL‑15 asset in both vitiligo and celiac disease. These structures weren’t about financial engineering for its own sake. They were designed to ensure R&D teams could stay focused on development without capital becoming a constraint.
Partnerships can also create value by expanding access. Through strategic partnerships with companies such as Samsung Bioepis and Polpharma Biologics, we’re combining biosimilar development and manufacturing expertise with Teva’s commercial reach to support broader access to biosimilar treatment options while strengthening our portfolio.
Strong partnerships don’t eliminate risk and complexity. They create the clarity, shared ownership, and focus needed to manage challenges and move important programs forward."
How has leveraging partnerships led to measurable results at Teva?
Eric (EVP, Global R&D and CMO):
"One of the clearest signs that this approach is working is the momentum in our late‑stage pipeline.
Today, we’re advancing three Phase 3 programs across schizophrenia, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease. These are areas where treatment options remain limited and patient needs are significant.
That progress reflects strong internal science paired with the right external capabilities, allowing teams to move with urgency while maintaining discipline."
Evan (EVP, Business Development):
"Those outcomes weren’t accidental.
They came from aligning Business Development, R&D, and Commercial early around the science, the unmet need, and what long-term success should look like. For us, success isn’t defined at signing, but instead by what happens next.
When partnerships are designed with shared intent from the beginning, they hold up far better over time. That early internal alignment also enables a smoother, and often faster path to a signed agreement."
Read – and join – the rest of the conversation here
