Business Development for the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry

by Martin Austin

Business Development in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries accounts for over $5 billion in licensing deal value per year and much more than that in the value of mergers and acquisitions. Transactions range from licences to patented academic research, to product developments as licences, joint ventures and acquisition of intellectual property rights, and on to collaborations in development and marketing, locally or across the globe. Asset sales, mergers and corporate takeovers are also a part of the business development remit. The scope of the job can be immense, spanning the life-cycle of products from the earliest levels of research to the disposal of residual marketing rights, involving legal regulatory manufacturing, clinical development, sales and marketing and financial aspects. The knowledge and skills required of practitioners must be similarly broad, yet the availability of information for developing a career in business development is sparse. Martin Austin's highly practical guide spans the complete process and is based on his 30 years of experience in the industry and the well-established training programme that he has developed and delivers to pharmaceutical executives from across the world.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book may be very helpful for business-oriented people who are yet to acquaint oneself with the biotech/pharma business - a good intro as no other book like that exists. People in the industry, however, probably read more complex approaches and theories or just learn by doing. From my perspective (a biobiz student), it was educational but boring to read except for a few real-life business cases that spiced things up. A strange mix of easy-going experienced business man talk and coercive bureaucratic legal lingo which, for me, didn't play out so well (plus, the book is yearning for a proper editor!). The author pointed out the need for overarching knowledge in business development (to have various frames of reference) but perhaps that's the thing - it lacked brain-twisting insight for me. I bet there are some eye-popping stories he could share but, I'm telling you, this guy must be hiding something given his scope of experience.