Multi-layer platform coordination for open innovation in oligonucleotide therapeutics

•The oligonucleotide therapeutics market has evolved through open innovation.•The pharmaceutical industry is moving from vertical integration to horizontal specialization.•Biotechnology firms provide platforms for the R&D of new drugs and technologies.•Pharmaceutical firms provide platforms for regulation, whereas contract development manufacturing organizations provide manufacturing.•Coordinating multi-layer platforms is key for sustaining value from new modalities. As technology evolves and medical needs diversify, the pharmaceutical industry must accelerate its openness. This study analysed interorganizational alliances in R&D for the new modality of oligonucleotide therapeutics in order to explore the requirements for establishing new markets. The results confirmed that the market has developed in stages, employing open innovation for different purposes according to technological progress. At each stage, it was crucial to form platforms among biotech companies on the drug discovery side, among pharmaceutical companies on the regulatory side and among contract development manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) on the manufacturing side. These findings clarify the dynamics of open innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry and provide strategic implications for sustainable value creation in drug R&D.