On the other side, technology and bandwidth provide means to shift at least part of the partnering activity online although it is essential for many to meet in person in order to get to know each other and to develop trust through this process. Virtual meetings can be a very effective complement to personal meetings so long as they are an integral component of the entire event concept and not just a superimposed element.

„Moving a partnering event’s scheduled one-on-one meetings online as a contingency plan is neither imaginative nor intelligent“ says Dr. Norbert Rau, one of the founders of RauCon GmbH & Co. KG and the designer of euroPLX, the world’s most often held pharma partnering event. He adds: „A backup plan that merely adds video is like whipped cream on an old piece of cake to make it look fresh.“

In fact, combining functionalities of virtual components with face-to-face meetings requires careful planning and seamless integration into a re-conceptualised partnering concept and its online system. This means rethinking partnering as we know it.

The upcoming 25th anniversary of euroPLX at the end of June will bring a marked change from a conventional pharma partnering conference to a 60-days marketplace for pharma business opportunities which includes an array of online interaction tools, a 2 days face-to-face meetings event plus weeks for additional video conferencing. Participants of the upcoming euroPLX 73 Vienna will already benefit from the extended concept.