Pharma Business Development & Licensing Course

Lesson 1 • Role of Business Development

Defines BD scope, distinguishing it from sales and marketing. Connects BD activities to corporate strategy and pipeline growth objectives.

Lesson 2 • The Pharma Industry Landscape

Covers industry structure, key stakeholders, and market dynamics shaping BD decisions. Provides context for all subsequent deal-making and licensing concepts.

Lesson 3 • Drug Development Lifecycle Essentials

Summarises discovery through commercialisation stages relevant to deal timing. Enables BD professionals to assess asset maturity and risk profiles.

Lesson 1 • Peak Sales and Market Sizing

Develops bottom-up and top-down market sizing methodologies for drug assets. Directly feeds revenue assumptions into valuation models.

Lesson 2 • Core Financial Concepts for BD

Introduces time value of money, cash flow modelling, and financial metrics essential for deal assessment. Grounds subsequent valuation techniques in financial theory.

Lesson 3 • Comparable Transaction Analysis

Uses precedent deals to benchmark valuation assumptions and deal terms. Teaches systematic database research and comparables selection.

Lesson 4 • Risk-Adjusted NPV Modelling

Applies probability of technical and regulatory success to NPV calculations. Produces rNPV models that reflect real-world asset uncertainty.

Lesson 1 • Sourcing External Opportunities

Maps channels for discovering licensing and partnership opportunities. Builds a proactive sourcing capability beyond inbound deal flow.

Lesson 2 • Initial Screening and Triage

Applies rapid filters to prioritise opportunities for deeper evaluation. Prevents resource waste on poor-fit assets early in the funnel.

Lesson 3 • Strategic Fit and Portfolio Criteria

Defines criteria linking external opportunities to internal portfolio gaps. Ensures screening decisions are anchored to corporate strategy.

Lesson 1 • Clinical Data Review and Interpretation

Evaluates trial design, endpoints, safety signals, and efficacy data from clinical packages. Connects clinical findings to regulatory and commercial risk.

Lesson 2 • Due Diligence Process Design

Structures the end-to-end due diligence workflow, team composition, and timeline. Sets the operational foundation for all subsequent diligence activities.

Lesson 3 • Competitive Landscape Analysis

Maps the treatment landscape and pipeline competition to assess differentiation potential. Informs go/no-go recommendations and deal valuation.

Lesson 4 • Evaluating Preclinical Data Packages

Assesses mechanism of action, in vitro and in vivo data quality, and translational relevance. Identifies scientific risks before clinical investment decisions.

Lesson 1 • Term Sheet Drafting and Review

Applies deal structure knowledge to drafting and critiquing term sheets. Bridges conceptual understanding to practical document preparation.

Lesson 2 • Core Financial Deal Terms

Details upfront fees, milestones, royalties, and minimum payments as deal components. Builds ability to construct and evaluate financial term packages.

Lesson 3 • Types of Licensing Arrangements

Distinguishes exclusive, non-exclusive, co-exclusive, and sub-licensable licences. Connects licence type selection to strategic and commercial objectives.

Lesson 4 • Alternative Deal Structures

Explores co-development, co-promotion, option agreements, and asset acquisitions. Expands the BD professional's toolkit beyond standard licensing.

Lesson 1 • Managing the Negotiation Process

Addresses meeting management, documentation, and momentum maintenance across sessions. Ensures negotiations progress efficiently towards closure.

Lesson 2 • Negotiation Preparation and Planning

Establishes pre-negotiation analysis including BATNA, priorities, and counterparty profiling. Preparation quality directly determines negotiation outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Negotiation Tactics and Techniques

Covers anchoring, concession sequencing, packaging, and value creation tactics. Equips students to navigate competitive and collaborative negotiation dynamics.

Lesson 4 • Cross-Cultural Negotiation Dynamics

Identifies cultural variables affecting communication, trust, and decision-making in global deals. Prepares students for international licensing negotiations.

Lesson 1 • Alliance Evolution and Termination

Manages partnership restructuring, expansion, and orderly termination scenarios. Ensures BD professionals can navigate the full alliance lifecycle.

Lesson 2 • Managing Alliance Conflict

Identifies sources of partnership conflict and applies structured resolution approaches. Preserves relationship value while protecting contractual rights.

Lesson 3 • Governance Structures and Decision Rights

Designs committee hierarchies, voting mechanisms, and escalation pathways for joint decisions. Clarifies authority to prevent operational gridlock.

Lesson 4 • Performance Monitoring and Reporting

Tracks milestone progress, financial obligations, and diligence commitments across the alliance. Enables early detection of performance gaps.

Lesson 1 • Measuring BD Function Performance

Defines KPIs and metrics for evaluating BD team effectiveness and deal quality. Enables data-driven improvement of the BD function over time.

Lesson 2 • Corporate Development and M&A Interface

Clarifies the boundary and collaboration between BD licensing and M&A functions. Prepares BD professionals to contribute to acquisition processes.

Lesson 3 • Managing a Multi-Deal BD Portfolio

Addresses simultaneous management of multiple active deals and alliances. Develops prioritisation and resource management skills for BD leaders.

Lesson 4 • Portfolio Strategy and BD Alignment

Links BD deal-making to portfolio-level objectives including balance, risk, and return. Ensures individual deals serve the broader strategic portfolio plan.