Overview:

Drug developers have long been under pressure to introduce new products in an environment of escalating R&D costs, blockbuster patent expiration and resulting generic competition. Current weak economic conditions have exacerbated these challenges with sweeping R&D staff and budget reductions. In order to remain competitive, drug makers must now do more with less. Technology transfer, particularly of new biotechnologies that offer novel means to address unmet medical needs, offer a way to cost effectively address these challenges. They also provide technology developers with a mechanism to monetize their inventions.
However, while some drug makers and technology developers have optimized their biotech tech transfer methodologies and have developed sophisticated processes to select, monitor and manage a wide range of relationships, many other biotech tech transfer projects fail. A large proportion of these failures could be averted as many of the most common reasons for failure are preventable problems relating to due diligence failures, shortcomings in deal structure, management changes, cultural challenges, and inappropriate project organization and expectations. This report provides details on how to avoid these common pitfalls with case studies that illustrate best practices.

Key features of this report

• Discussion of the factors leading to current imperatives to increased biotech tech transfer.
• Detailed descriptions of both effective and ineffective biotech tech transfer approaches.
• In depth analysis of the types of different biotech tech transfer relationships, their advantages and disadvantages.
• More than 10 case studies that illustrate biotech tech transfer best practices.
• Comprehensive discussion of offshore biotech tech transfer, particularly focusing on India and China.

Scope of this report

• Understand the driving forces behind biotech tech transfer.
• Save time and money with the report’s succinct compilation and analysis of current biotech tech transfer trends.
• Learn how biotech tech transfer will evolve over the next several years and why.
• Assess your competitive position vis-à-vis other technology sponsors or technology developers and learn about biotech tech transfer best practices via detailed case studies.
• Understand the reasons behind biotech tech transfer success and failure.
• Develop strategies to optimize your biotech tech transfer methodologies and protocols.

Key Market Issues

• The drug development industry is undergoing a significant change which may permanently re-shape product development activities. Many industry experts believe the industry is shrinking; at the very least, the focus is shifting from large in-house research teams to smart approaches, strategic outsourcing and technology transfer.
• Although cost cutting has previously not been a concern for R&D departments, the current economic environment has brought expense reduction programs into research labs. Most of the leading drug makers have recently undertaken and/or are currently in the midst of broad R&D cost cutting programs.
• Biotechnology offers a means to address unmet medical needs, particularly via personalized medicine, which small molecule approaches do not. With more than 3,500 biotech drug companies around the world, many have developed unique technologies and approaches to drug development.
• Because drug makers must continue to introduce new products, maintaining high productivity is key. Biotech tech transfer offers a means to achieve this by providing technology sponsors with access to new technologies.

Key findings from this report

• After a decline in 2008 to 53 deals from 74 deals in 2007, biotech technology transfer volume for human medicines spiked in 2009 to 121 deals. Chapter 1
• More than half of biotech tech transfer deals fail. Chapter 2
• However, some firms experience very low failure rates of less than 10% while others report very high failure rates in excess of 70%. Chapter 2
• Many biotech tech transfer failures can be traced to an inability on the part of the sponsor to adequately perform initial due diligence. Chapter 3
• Over the next five years, the role of biotechnology in drug development is expected to expand strongly as biotech drug sales rise by 17.7% per year while small molecule drug sales grow by just 2.9% annually. Chapter 4

Key questions answered

• Why is biotech tech transfer rising so quickly? (Because biotechnologies offer a means to address unmet medical needs and many new technologies have been developed outside of Big Pharma)
• Which types of biotech tech transfer approaches are currently most common? (Licensing and acquisitions)
• Which trends will further boost biotech tech transfer in the future? (Economic recovery, healthcare reform, clarification of biosimilars regulation, rising biotech funding)
• What are the most common reasons for the failure of biotech tech transfers? Deficiencies in due diligence, inappropriate deal structure, differing cultures, inappropriate project organization and expectations and technology failure)

Building Biotech Technology Transfer Opportunities

Executive Summary

Overview of biotech tech transfer

Why biotech tech transfer deals fail

Strategies to ensure successful biotech tech transfer deals

The future of biotech tech transfer deals

Chapter 1 Overview of biotech tech transfer

Summary

The biotechnology industry today

Biotechnology technologies and techniques

Proliferation of investigational products

Funding issues

Need to partner to advance product development

The emergence of biotechnology brokers

Drug development challenges

More complicated disease targets

Escalating costs

Increased regulatory scrutiny

Diminished in-house R&D resources

Types of biotech tech transfer relationships

Academic R&D infusions

Biotech biotech deals

Pharma biotech alliances

Licensing

R&D collaborations

Sales, distribution and co-marketing agreements

Joint ventures

Acquisitions

Volume of recent deals

Relationship trends

Volume and value

Ownership

Conclusion

Chapter 2 Why biotech tech transfer deals fail

Summary

High failure rates

Symptoms of deal failure

Factors that do not affect deal failure

Implications of deal failure

Impact on technology developers

Impact on technology sponsors

Lost value of failed deals

Main causes of biotech tech transfer failure

Due diligence failures

Technology performance

Patent issues

Developer organization strength

Deal structure

Financial compensation

Management changes

Cultural differences

Project organization and expectations

Other preventable problems

Technology failure

Conclusion

Chapter 3 Strategies to ensure successful biotech tech transfer deals

Summary

Measures of success

Success for the technology developer

Success for the technology sponsor

Key biotech tech transfer strategies

Strategies for both technology developers and sponsors

Meeting technology challenges

Strategies for technology developers

Optimizing resources

Thinking like a customer

Working with professional tech transfer organizations

Prolific publishing

Strategies for technology sponsors

Thorough technology identification and due diligence

Structuring innovative deal terms

Addressing compensation issues

Fostering an entrepreneurial developer environment

Ensuring effective alliance management

Navigating cultural chasms

Addressing international intellectual property challenges

Conclusion

Chapter 4 The future of biotech tech transfer deals

Summary

Introduction

The future of drug development

Impact of the economy

US healthcare reform

Biosimilars

Biotechnology in 2010 - 2015

Where biotech fits into Big Pharma

Dedicated biotechnology companies

Biotech tech transfer deal trends 2010 - 2015

Volume and value

Ownership

Intellectual property issues

Success rates

Conclusion

Index

List of Figures

Figure 1.1: Frequency of biotech tech transfer deals by type of institution

Figure 1.2: Number and volume of biopartnering deals, 1997 - 2009

Figure 1.3: Acquisitions as a proportion of biotech tech transfer deals,

Figure 2.4: Characteristics of biotech tech transfer failure causes

Figure 2.5: Relative importance to sponsor of technology developer

Figure 3.6: Strategies to optimize biotech tech transfer opportunities

Figure 4.7: Biopharmaceutical vs. other pharmaceutical sales, 2009 - 2015

Figure 4.8: Impact of industry and economic trends on conventional and biotech drug developers, 2009 - 2015

Figure 4.9: Relative importance of biotechnology for leading pharmaceutical companies, 2009 vs. 2015

Figure 4.10: Number and average size of global biotech companies, 2009 - 2015

Figure 4.11: Number and volume of biopartnering deals, 2009 - 2015

List of Tables

Table 1.1: Definition of biotechnology techniques

Table 1.2: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009

Table 1.3: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.4: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.5: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.6: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.7: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.8: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.9: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.10: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.11: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.12: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.13: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.14: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.15: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 1.16: Biotech tech transfer deals, 2009 (Contd.)

Table 3.17: Technology transfer areas of interest for Merck & Co., 2010

Table 3.18: Technology transfer areas of interest for Merck & Co., 2010 (Contd.)

Table 3.19: Novartis private equity fund holdings, 2010

Table 3.20: Novartis private equity fund holdings, 2010 (Contd.)

Table 3.21: Novartis private equity fund holdings, 2010 (Contd.)

Table 3.22: Novartis private equity fund holdings, 2010 (Contd.)

Table 4.23: Millions of older and overweight persons in the US and EU, 2009 - 2015

Table 4.24: Biosimilars approved in the US and EU, 2010