How product development partnerships support hybrid collaborations dealing with global health challenges

Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) are organizations that target economically-deprived markets, aiming to develop a product by integrating contributions of diverse partners. They have gained importance in the global health arena by targeting and developing drugs for neglected tropical diseases. Their projects are difficult to manage given the multiplicity of roles, objectives and institutional logics of the partners that participate in the collaboration. We explore activities and strategies that platform PDPs – PDPs that orchestrate hybrid project networks – employ to stimulate collaboration between heterogeneous actors. Based on the analysis of two platform PDP projects targeting poverty-related diseases, we propose a framework outlining two innovation collaboration models. With this we support the better understanding of PDPs, which are gaining momentum to facilitate socio-technical transitions across the globe to tackle poverty-related diseases. •The paper investigates Product Development Partnerships developing drugs for neglected tropical diseases.•We explore activities and strategies that PDPs employ to stimulate successful collaboration between heterogeneous actors.•Based on case studies two innovation collaboration models are proposed.•PDPs gain momentum to facilitate socio-technical transitions across the globe to tackle poverty-related diseases.