Risks

Pursued haphazardly, with insufficient attention given to establishing clear and realistic goals, an operable negotiating strategy and defining what is and is not ultimately acceptable, an ill-defined and unstructured BD&L initiative exposes an SME/biotech to:

• The prospect of signing a lopsided deal that falls far short of attainable and realistic expectations.
• The risk of prematurely upending negotiations that encounter inevitable bumps, yet show early promise of an eventual mutually beneficial agreement.
• Burning carefully constructed and vital bridges with prospective partners.
• Misinterpreting and misreading key signals from the other party at critical junctures in negotiations.
• Not being fully ready for positive turns in negotiations, key inflection points such as due diligence that can determine whether talks proceed.
• Missing a chance to fully exploit a deal for all that a partnership can offer in terms of broader asset application and development, future collaboration and longer-term agreements.
• Failure to develop a team and a strategy that can match that of the other party in preparation, consistent messaging, knowledge and firmness.

Opportunities

By putting BD&L efforts on a par with those committed to developing the asset itself – understanding cause and effect; investigating different approaches; having a clear end in mind; being diligent and disciplined – an SME/biotech is better positioned to:

• Realize the full and fair market value for an asset, and attain more certainty that a good deal was achieved in the end.
• Bring the asset to market at the most optimal time, limiting downside risk and maximizing upside gains.
• Gain competitive intelligence that will enable a better and fuller understanding of the market realities that will ultimately determine the asset’s fair value.
• Negotiate as fully as possible as an equal to the potential licensee.
• Gain more flexibility to enter into collaborative consortium agreements that spread the risks associated with further asset development.
• Get a fuller picture of the full spectrum of BD&L opportunities for the asset, and better ensure the best choice of potential partners.
• Fully explore all of the opportunities that a potential partnership might bring to current and future assets.