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Fostering multidisciplinary collaboration in drug discovery


Drug discovery teams combine specialists with in-depth knowledge from a variety of scientific disciplines. Such diversity in thought worlds poses a challenging exercise in cross-disciplinary collaboration and project co- ordination. Based on a longitudinal field study of five projects in a leading pharmaceutical company, we present a framework outlining the conditions for effective cross-disciplinary collaboration in drug discovery teams. We show that knowledge creation in multidisciplinary teams relies on a combination of formal team structures and informal co-ordination practices. Formal team structures set the boundary conditions for cross-disciplinary co-ordination. Within these boundaries, self-managed sub-teams draw on informal co- ordination practices involving cross-disciplinary anticipation, synchronisation and triangulation, to overcome knowledge boundaries and high uncertainty. We identify five key insights and two questions which are important for managers to consider for fostering multidisciplinary collaboration in drug discovery.


By Professor Zeynep Erden, Dr Shiko Ben-Menahem,


Professor Georg von Krogh, Dr Andreas


Schneider, Dr Guido Koch and Dr Hans Widmer


T


he challenges facing members of diverse teams are well known1-3. Multidisciplinary teams, in particular, include individuals


with vastly diverging thought worlds, scientific practices, approaches to problem solving, commu- nication patterns, timelines and technologies for knowledge creation. An additional source of com- plexity is that drug discovery teams are always in flux: as scientists push the knowledge frontiers in human biology, unpredictable findings and emerg- ing obstacles require that the team composition is continuously modified. Turning such diversity into complementarity demands is an ongoing effort of team leaders and project members4-6. Effective team co-ordination across different dis-


ciplines is essential for successful drug discovery. Yet high task uncertainty and complexity involved


58


in this process makes it very difficult to design an optimal formal team structure7-9. The changing nature of the scientific questions and unpre- dictability of its evolution challenges team co-ordi- nation10-13. In a recent field study20 we analysed how project members performing complex knowl- edge creation activities collaborate across knowl- edge domains and which organisational structures help successful teams defy knowledge boundaries and facilitate progress. To answer our research question, members of five drug discovery projects in a global pharmaceutical company were inter- viewed and observed during project team meetings, lab work and other day-to-day interactions for a period of more than 18 months in 2011 and 2012. The project teams included specialists from medic- inal chemistry, structural biology, preclinical safety,


Drug Discovery World Spring 2019


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