Is a Regional Partnership Right for Your Biotech Company?
As a smaller or emerging biotech company, you often have an innovative asset with potential to benefit patient populations worldwide. This is often a drug but can also include applications like animal health, supplements, and even beauty. In some cases it has already been approved in markets like the U.S., or it is in late-stage development.
Expanding to global markets is a natural next step for growth, but it can bring challenges and complexities that cause many to wonder: is a regional partnership right for my biotech company?
The challenge many biotech organizations face is that, even though you have developed/are developing a commercial product, you might not have the bandwidth to roll out your product in a specific country.
Top challenges include:
Different regulatory requirements, making it difficult to seamlessly enter without deep knowledge of the landscape
A lack of established relationships with regulators, supply chain partners, and other stakeholders
Language or cultural barriers that are especially difficult for smaller teams
Time zone differences
Regional Partnerships as a Strategy in Biotech
There’s so much potential, especially for newer biotech companies, to achieve growth and expand their commercialization potential through regional partnerships – either as a strategic partnership or licensing deal.
A regional partnership allows companies to either license their asset in that country or form a partnership with a local party to distribute the product to the market.
Unlike the larger global deals common in big pharma, regional deals are an option in biotech to target specific high-potential countries without the higher cost easily achieved in pharma.
Regional partnerships, both licensing or distribution partnerships, are typically ideal for:
Drug candidates (all therapeutic areas, indications, mechanisms of action)
OTC (over-the-counter) drugs
Generics
Dietary supplements/natural health products
Biologics
Orphan drugs
Vaccines
Small molecules
Animal health/pet products
Personalized medicine
And more.
How Do I Select the Right Regional Market?
The markets you choose depend on patient populations in the health area of interest and potential to improve health outcomes. Also what matters is being able to access commercial platforms in each market such as CROs and clinical research partners.
As a recent example, global pharma company Medison Pharma formed a multi-regional agreement with Argenx to commercialize their innovative drug called efgartigimod in 14 countries across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It allows them to access more patients with generalized myasthenia gravis, a severe autoimmune disease.
Key Considerations for Regional Partnerships in Biotech
A key consideration with these deals is ensuring ownership of any IP and data, so due diligence is critical. Working with a business development firm with demonstrated experience and success in biotech is essential. They will help you identify the right potential partners, liaise with stakeholders on your behalf, and create a success plan with milestones to create a deal that works for your company’s goals.
Lastly, if you are unsure if a regional partnership is the right strategic move for your biotech company, reach out to our team for an introductory call.
Conclusion
Overall, regional partnerships, including licensing and strategic partnerships, enable growth as a smaller biotech organization while allowing your IP to help more people around the world – at the same time providing the cash needed to foster longevity as a smaller, agile organization.
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Sosna + Co is a boutique, outsourced business development partner for the life sciences. From M&A advisory and licensing deals with Fortune 500 companies to uncovering the potential of savvy, new start-ups, the principle is simple: we work meticulously to uncover new opportunities that grow your business. Contact us today to learn more.