Every January, biopharmaceutical companies large and small come to San Francisco for the Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. They outline their goals for the coming year and discuss their plans to bring value to their investors.

At the conference, a hot topic of conversation will be the slew of partnerships and acquisitions amongst biopharmaceutical companies. After all, 2014 saw some pretty significant deals and collaborations, including a number from Genentech and Roche.

What’s our agenda for the meeting, and the year? We’re not looking to replenish a dwindling pipeline or for a means to a corporate inversion, as many do during the week of the conference. In contrast, our approach is to partner with like-minded people to fully realize the potential of great science by turning that science into new medicines for people with serious illnesses.

Making medicines comes with its own set of scientific, clinical, regulatory, and manufacturing challenges. It’s absolutely essential to have the right partner to get through all of them. So, as we get ready for next week’s meeting—where we'll search for unique opportunities to deliver long-term value not just for the companies involved but for the patients who need new medicines—I’d like to offer my thoughts on what makes for lasting partnerships: