Business development: starting out

Business development covers a range of activities relating to the commercialisation of a company’s products or services. In smaller companies, the function of business development is high profile. Most senior posts in small companies are like that, but what makes business development especially prominent is that from an early stage in the company’s history this is the activity which, along with the CEO’s efforts to raise funds, positions the company in the wider business community. Success in business development is measured in deals done. The actual deal-making negotiations are a relatively small part of the overall endeavour and only take place if the rest of the job is done well. This chapter outlines major elements of a typical business development role in a small to medium-sized biopharmaceutical company, focusing on the approach to getting into deal negotiations. Business development is concerned with defining and positioning the offering of the company. It requires a thorough and detailed knowledge of the company’s own intellectual property assets as well as a high degree of knowledge of what other companies in the market are offering (competitive intelligence). In order to make a credible case, a business development professional will also have to provide market and financial analyses used to justify their demands. Other issues that involve business development include the company’s brand or how it projects its image in the market place. I also discuss other important areas such as marketing and networking before looking at some of the ‘how to’ parts of often neglected but essential activities of record keeping and collaterals. Finally I will draw on my own experience to offer some suggestions on making those corporate presentations which can make all the difference between success and failure for a biotech company. Once the deal is signed there is usually a lot still to be done, and will be for some years to come. Chapter 13 looks more closely at the deal-making process itself, negotiations and the downstream relationship management between licensor and licensee.