FIRM ANALYSIS FINANCE & TRANSACTIONAL
Firm Briefings
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or the past few years, corporate attorneys have been looking for a sense of clarity within the life sciences industry. The FDA’s strict guidelines continue to worry potential investors in the industry, but attorneys are starting to see consistent trends developing in a very unpredictable marketplace. “Big pharma has been looking to refill their drug pipelines by either acquiring or striking a deal with smaller pharmaceutical companies for big pharma’s own research and development purposes,” remarks one practitioner. “Generally, these deals are structured differently on a dealto-deal basis, but as of late there are similar structures of earn-out and milestone agreements that are allocating a bit more risk towards big pharma in these collaborations.” Biotechnology research is also becoming a focal point for generating partnerships within the industry. Companies are looking towards academic institutions to help support their own biotech research facilities. Universities are working with the biotech spinoffs of pharmaceutical companies to help jumpst