How Europe’s research labs and pharma firms learned to talk to each other

The Industry Liaison Office (ILO) was designed to build trust and communication between researchers and industry. Instead of treating scientists as service providers and companies as clients, it framed the relationship as a collaboration, built on shared needs and complementary expertise. That shift proved catalytic.

Speaking the same language

The ILO acts as the missing translator between the two parties. Academic scientists brought creativity and advanced screening platforms, and posed curiosity-driven questions. Industry brought knowledge of clinical needs, regulatory realities and a sense of what it takes to move a molecule beyond the lab. The ILO connected the two in ways that felt more like matchmaking than management.

"Drug discovery is too complex for any one group to handle alone," says Mabel Loza, professor of Pharmacology at CiMUS Research Center in Spain. "The ILO created a neutral space where industry and academia could sit at the same table and share problems and solutions."

That neutral ground proved to be very fertile. Under EU-OPENSCREEN-DRIVE, the ILO coordinated six collaborative projects (called technological nodes) across Europe, each offering specialised tools and expertise, from high-content screening to medicinal chemistry. These nodes were not just research centres, they became access points for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that lacked the resources to build such infrastructure themselves. For the first time, many firms had open access to large compound libraries, validated assays used to screen potential drug candidates, and the technical know-how to use them.

Making partnerships work

The results were remarkable. Six joint projects were initiated under DRIVE's watch, pairing academic groups with SMEs and pharma companies. Many results were applied at a high level, developing new investigative assay technologies such as NanoBRET with Promega, and CETSA with Revvity and partner sites USC, Fraunhofer and the Karolinska Institutet. By standardising access rules, legal frameworks and intellectual property agreements, the ILO removed the bureaucratic hurdles that can often impede collaborations.

"One of our priorities was to make access simple," Loza explains. "Companies need to know what they can expect, how data will be shared and how intellectual property is handled. Once those rules were clear, it was much easier for them to come on board."

To keep that momentum, the ILO relied on a steady rhythm: annual face-to-face meetings in Santiago de Compostela, Oslo and Berlin; regular online check-ins every two months; and problem-focused groups. Working back from defined end goals (referred to as 'reciprocal transference') helped keep projects concrete and partners aligned.

The benefits were not one-sided. Academics gained exposure to real-world problems and a chance to see their research tested beyond the university walls. Industry partners gained not only data, but new methods and disruptive scientific perspectives. According to Loza, these encounters often challenged assumptions on both sides. "We learned that industry and academia think differently, but when you combine those perspectives, you get better science."

From lab bench to lasting change

Workshops and training sessions helped young researchers understand industrial needs, while companies saw the value of exploratory, curiosity-driven work. The office also built networks that now extend well beyond the original DRIVE project.

In the new EU-funded project IMPULSE, the ILO model is being expanded to generate fresh technological and scientific nodes, tackling urgent biomedical challenges including assays for unprecedented targets and even assays based on patient material.

For Loza, their achievement is clear: "The ILO shows that collaboration is not just possible, but productive. We created structures that last, and partnerships that keep growing."

As Europe looks to accelerate drug discovery and tackle global health challenges, the quiet success of EU-OPENSCREEN's ILO may prove one of its most valuable contributions: a reminder that sometimes the biggest breakthroughs start with a simple conversation.