Top 20 pharma companies seek out new partnering opportunities at BIO-Europe 2009

In order to seek out new partnering opportunities, the top 20 big pharma companies will be in attendance on November 2–4 in Vienna, Austria for BIO-Europe 2009, the largest dedicated partnering conference in Europe. Teams of scouts from the likes of Abbott, Amgen, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Baxter, Bayer HealthCare/Bayer Schering Pharma, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc., Merck Serono, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will attend the conference to examine industry issues, learn new business approaches, and most importantly, network with biotechs and other organizations toward successful business deals.

For biotech companies a favorable dynamic today is that big pharma is totally engaged and more knowledgeable of biologics. The opportunistic hook-ups of the early 1980s have given way to strategic alliances and acquisitions. Nearly all pharmaceutical companies now have in-house biotech programs or bioventure units to seek out and finance promising start-ups. About 75 percent of liquidity events for privately held biotechs in the last 10 years were through acquisition by larger firms, not IPOs.

“The speed of change within large pharma is tremendous compared to the middle part of last decade,” said William Ringo, Pfizer’s Senior VP for worldwide business development, strategy and innovation in the recent issue of partneringNEWS>

From a venture capital perspective, the lack of an IPO exit means that the companies most likely to get funded today are those that embrace an early partnering strategy from the outset. A company built to be acquired after achieving proof of concept—typically a successful phase 2 trial of its lead drug candidate—can be much smaller than one that aspires to taking its compound through approval, launch and marketing. That means venture investors can put up proportionately less cash, and see a return sooner.

This year’s event will continue its 15-year legacy of providing quality partnering meetings and informative sessions. With over 2,500 delegates expected for BIO-Europe, industry leaders know where partnering deals begin.

http://www.ebdgroup.com/bioeurope/