A small company perspective on partnering with large pharma.

The nature of the start-up company in the bio-tech or bio-pharma field is complex and constantly evolving. At the heart of the company is the desire of its founders to bring to fruition their concepts and dreams in an economically successful frame work. The objectives are to efficiently utilize capital to advance the concepts (which quickly become technologies) through a series of stages that will prove feasibility and add value. In drug industry terms start-ups want to move their intellectual property from concept to feasibility through models of efficacy and safety. At each stage success brings added value, all things being equal. The forces acting upon the company are manifold. Success of candidate molecules is never assured, competition is intense and the process itself is expensive. In addition, investors seek good returns on their invested capital, which translate into an exit strategy that will generate liquid assets.