Another day, another drugmaker refocuses. Today, Lundbeck disclosed plans to cut 50 people from its R&D operations in the US and Europe as part of a plan to greater emphasize collaborations with universities and other companies. Although the Danish drugmaker will continue to devote resources to developing compounds for brain diseases, such as depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s (see the statement).

“A lot of new knowledge in this field of disease biology is being developed right now, at universities and biotech companies, and we need access to it,” Lundbeck research chief Peter Hongaard Andersen tells Reuters. “Up until now, the starting point for our work was more existing mechanisms…so we were less dependent on new research than we will be with the new strategy.” The drugmaker currently employs about 5,400 people worldwide.

Lundbeck becomes only the latest drugmaker to pursue such a path. Over the last couple of years, several drugmakers have embraced the notion of pursuing long-standing relationships with universities or exploring partnerships with rivals to replenish their pipelines. GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, for instance, formed a joint venture called Viiv. Last May, Pfizer signed a five-year drug discovery deal with the Washington University School of Medicine. AstraZeneca and University College of London’s Institute of Ophthalmology recently inked a three-year research partnership to develop medicines that would use stem cells in hopes of treating diabetic retinopathy.