Companies around the world have reacted quickly to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are grateful. However, the challenge for biotech’s dealmakers is to efficiently communicate the differentiation and fit with a prospective partner company while contending with the crowded world of COVID-19 offerings, or risk being overlooked by their counterparty who has limited time and bandwidth.

As transactions are sensitive strategic processes, names of companies and executives in all MotionHall case studies are anonymized.

Master the Scientific Sale First

Jane understands that her first job as CBO at Pinecone Therapeutics is to understand the market for her deal.

Leveraging the MotionHall Platform, Jane has clear line-of-sight on prospective licensing partners, deal comparables and the complicated COVID-19 competitive set. Given the rapid pace of development in this market, she appreciates both the real-time updates to her analysis through the Platform and the tailored email alerts she receives every month, which are curated to highlight the most important changes in the market for her deal.

Jane is an experienced CBO who knows that it takes time to master and refine a pitch, and given that mastering the scientific sale will be critical in her process, she wants to get feedback from R&D leaders early in the process without alienating any important relationships.

Jane works with her CSO to study the Scientific Synergies tab in MotionHall’s OutMatch Professional: Out-Licensing and Sell-Side M&A. Together with the MotionHall Strategy Consulting team they determine the most concise way to communicate the science behind her asset and how it fits with the science at prospective partner companies. The Scientific Synergies tab also helps her identify the scientists from other companies that she and her team need to speak with.

Jane picks a set of companies that she doesn’t mind hearing no from to begin her conversation with scientific leaders with the goal of hearing the scientific frequently asked questions and feedback on her pitch delivery.

Ramp Up the Campaign When Understanding, Materials and the Pitch are Prepared

After two months of refining her pitch and materials, Jane is ready to accelerate her campaign across the set of attractive prospective partners.

Jane has done the work:

• • Refining her pitch with friendly and lower risk prospective partners.
• • Directing interest toward the product and creating deal momentum.
• • Preparing tailored materials for each preferred partner.

On her early campaign work refining the pitch, Jane said, “Many of these early targets are keener to reach a deal and have smaller teams to navigate, so I move them towards term sheets along the way. This helps me run a competitive process for Pinecone Therapeutics.”

Select Company Entry Points and Guide Internal Navigation

Jane uses OutMatch Professional’s Key Contacts tab to familiarize herself with the company’s business development team and prospective committee members. When she reaches out to these stakeholders, Jane has done the work to be ready to explain where her product fits within the company’s strategic priorities - including specific scientific and pipeline fit, integration with the salesforce and more.

A Sophisticated Process with Market Clarity Enabled by MotionHall

Jane successfully ran a sophisticated process that helped her counterparties appreciate the unique characteristics of Pinecone’s COVID-19 asset. As a result, she was able to attract multiple parties to her deal offering. Dealmakers on the other side of the table recognized that they could lose out if they don’t move quickly and offer competitive terms.