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Stock Watch: Should A Biotech’s First Product Be Out-Licensed Or Self-Marketed?

The Binary Biotech Business Development Decision

 
• By Andy Smith

The licensing or self-commercialization decision can be important for the success of a biotech company, but do other more fundamental factors concerning the drug dictate a company’s success?

Andy Smith
ANDY SMITH OFFERS A LIFE SCIENCE INVESTOR'S PERSPECTIVE ON BIOPHARMA BUSINESS

A key decision for a biotechnology company is whether to out-license or self-market a product. Profit shares or the retention of some marketing rights offer a less binary path, but with potentially disparate outcomes from these decisions, even past experience makes determining the optimal strategy a conundrum.

In 2007, Microbia, Inc., a private biotechnology company with limited drug development and commercialization experience, licensed its lead drug to...

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