Talk to us early and often, but deals take time, says Roche’s Sabry
Roche partnering head gives advice to biotechs seeking pharma deals on The BioCentury Show
One of the top mistakes that biotechs make when seeking deals with pharma companies is not building relations along the way, and only approaching when they’re ready and expecting to enter a deal, said James Sabry on The BioCentury Show.
Sabry, global head of pharma partnering at Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY), said companies frequently make the error of “not coming and talking to us until right at the end, right when they want to do the deal.” Instead, they should realize there’s a series of meetings involved for the pharma to get to know potential partners.
“Often we talk to companies for years about their programs before a deal is signed,” said Sabry.
A second mistake, said Sabry, is that companies believe they should hold back information even when there’s a confidential disclosure agreement in place out of fear the pharma will compete with their program.
“The reason we’re talking to the company is because they’re doing something we cannot do or we are not doing.”
He added, “The more, under the guise of a confidentiality agreement, we can have an open, honest discussion about the data behind the program, the more we can design a deal that makes sense, or make a decision about whether we’re the right partner or not.”
Sabry believes that many companies are aiming to do deals too early and should “use their risk capital to create more value” before partnering. That trend is growing in the bear market, with companies approaching for partnering earlier than they would have 12-18 months ago, which he says reflects the fact they “don’t think the capital markets are trustworthy to finance their company.”
Sabry also talked about the drivers for some of Roche’s recent deals. For example, the deal with Poseida Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTX) on allogeneic CAR Ts gave Roche not only two assets, the Phase I BCMA-targeted CAR T for multiple myeloma, and preclinical dual CD19 and CD20-targeted CAR T, but had a research collaboration component that would allow Roche to build its capabilities and explore next-gen CAR Ts.
Another deal, with Jiangxi Jemincare Group Co. Ltd., was notable as one of a handful of recent deals that saw Western companies tap China-based biotechs for innovative products. Deal flow has historically trended in the opposite direction with Western companies seeking to commercialize their assets in Asia.
Sabry expects demand for China assets to grow as that ecosystem continues to mature. “We did this deal not because it was in China, but because it was the best medicine we could find,” said Sabry.
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