The 5-6 September 2006 saw international delegates from academia and industry meet at a Drug Discovery Partnerships and Outsourcing conference in London hosted by IQPC (the International Quality and Productivity Center) to discuss issues surrounding drug discovery partnerships. A repeatedly posed question was 'how do we bridge the innovation gap?' This conference report examines the issues that were raised during the meeting, including industry's need for innovation, and how this need can be met through collaborations with academia or outsourcing. It also details the strategies that universities are adopting to make their research of value to a pharmaceutical partner, and discusses the opening of channels of communication between academia and pharmaceutical companies.