When an industry is new, there are no established paths. Leaders must create novel strategies for partnerships, IPOs, and international collaborations from scratch, turning a lack of precedent into an advantage for innovation.
The foundation of a successful biotech is scientific innovation. Business leaders who openly respect scientists as the focal point for value creation can build trusting, effective relationships that accelerate development and commercialization.
The most valuable board directors go beyond fiduciary oversight and serve as a confidential peer and sounding board for the CEO. This relationship is crucial in a role that often lacks internal peers for strategic counsel.
Contrary to the focus on large upfront payments, a smarter partnership strategy is to negotiate for a larger share of downstream success through royalties and milestones. This can yield far greater long-term returns if the product succeeds.
Drug development can take a decade, a timeframe that misaligns with typical investor horizons and employee careers. Success requires navigating fluctuating capital market cycles and implementing strategies to retain key scientific talent for the long haul.
To overcome the difficulty of running clinical trials in China, Zymeworks partnered with a local company, B1. This provided crucial access to a large patient population for indications like gastric cancer, significantly speeding up its global drug development program.
Instead of solely relying on replicating internal R&D success, a proven biotech can create value by acquiring passive assets. This involves buying royalty streams on promising external products, leveraging the company's evaluation and deal-making expertise in a new way.
Instead of an exclusive deal, Zymeworks shared its platform non-exclusively with multiple pharma giants. This multi-partner strategy validated the technology, generated capital, and built a portfolio of royalty interests before the company developed its own internal pipeline.