OBJECTIVES: Public-private partnerships (PPP) are encouraged for their ability to create powerful synergies to boost innovations. However, creating a sustainable PPP can be challenging. Little is known and shared about conditions for effective partnership between pharmaceutical industry, public and/or non-profit sectors (e.g. payers).

METHODS: At the Healthcare Evidence, Pricing and Access Congress in Amsterdam (March 2022), a roundtable was scheduled to initiate a dialogue between stakeholders, to discuss opportunities, challenges and provide recommendations for PPP.

RESULTS: Participants identified common goals: improving health and quality of life and exploring new solutions. Challenges for partnership were identified as: (perceived) differences in values and culture, competing interests, conflicting KPIs, (perceived) power imbalances, little interaction, lack of trust, and understanding of each other's perspectives. Proposed ways forward were: trying to find common ground, goals and ambitions, understanding each other’s challenges and needs, recognising and respecting differences, setting clear boundaries, improving (non-judgmental) dialogue and building trust by reliability, transparency and integrity. Early stakeholder engagement was defined as an important step in building trust. This could entail involving the industry in designing new public policies or involving payers in defining value and choosing endpoints for clinical trials. A successful partnership is based on clear objectives meeting the needs and expectations of all stakeholders (including patients, healthcare providers, researchers, payers and industry). Examples of common grounds for collaboration are patient-centric programmes, such as improving diagnostics, updated guidelines, generating real-world-evidence, dealing with uncertainty regarding the value of a medicine, harmonising early-access programmes and reducing pressure on healthcare systems (e.g. by reducing pressure on workforce and lowering costs). Participants in the roundtable acknowledged the importance of sustainable PPP and were committed to engage in valuable partnerships in the near future.

CONCLUSIONS: Successful and sustainable public-private partnerships are built on trust and a shared ambition to make progress by building on each other's strengths.