Why Building Trust is at the Heart of Effective Partnering

This is the first in a series of case studies to support people involved in biopharma business development to make the most of partnering opportunities. The case studies will include tips and insights from super-users on how to identify and engage with potential strategic partners, explore collaboration opportunities, and build relationships that may not result in immediate deals but can pave the way for future collaborations.

We spoke to Leo Bonifacio, Director of Business Development at Edesa Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDSA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative ways to treat inflammatory and immune-related diseases. The company’s assets include EB05 (paridiprubart), a monoclonal antibody therapy for treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which is undergoing a phase 3 trial after demonstrating a statistically significant survival signal in critically ill patients. The program was vetted and is supported by the Government of Canada and USA’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

Edesa has been very successful in partnering, having used partneringONE since its inception in 2015, with several significant collaborations that have originated from initial meetings at partnering events. Leo’s top ten tips for effective partnering are:

  • Trust. One key aspect of successful partnering is building trust. Take the time to understand your potential partners’ needs and show genuine interest in finding mutually beneficial solutions. Also, be patient; not all partnerships happen overnight, and different corporate cultures move at different speeds. Be open to new opportunities, even if they don’t align perfectly with your initial objectives as you never know where the next great partnership might come from. Trust is built over time, and an important feature of partneringONE is the ability to easily see historical information on past meetings.
  • The pitch is crucial. A well-crafted pitch should be clear, concise, and tailored to the specific company you’re targeting. Personalize the pitch to show that you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested in a partnership that benefits both parties. If it is a company or contact that you know well, customize the message. The specific content depends on the context. It could be a simple ‘let’s catch up’ type of message, or a more elaborate message, depending on the case. You can help yourself out with templates here: create an introductory message containing a crisp description of your programs. Use this for invites to new companies/contacts and modify them as required, e.g. remove reference to any programs that you know would not be of interest.
  • Focus on quality. Don’t focus too much on setting metrics for a target number of meetings. Pay more attention to who you are inviting and whether you are securing those specific meetings. Target companies that align well with your strategic objectives, and for whom you have a genuine purpose or meaningful update to provide.
  • Polish your profile. Focus on building a concise and compelling profile that clearly communicates your company’s interests and is aligned with your pitch.
  • Be objective and highlight only the key points. All companies, specially the bigger ones receive thousands of messages and it’s important to focus the message to ensure your invite is seriously considered.
  • Be open to opportunities. Not all companies publicize their complete interests, and there may be opportunities in meetings where you did not expect any.
  • Keep building your network. Notwithstanding the above point on quality, message as many companies with some degree of overlap as possible.
  • Be realistic. Set realistic timelines and goals for each partnership opportunity and regularly check in with potential partners to keep the process moving forward. Meetings are not always significant and that’s ok. Sometimes meetings can be just 5-10mins, but at least there’s contact and context for an eventual follow up, if appropriate.
  • Don’t let a deal slip away. Effective follow-up is critical. Setting clear next steps and timelines during the event can also help maintain momentum. Review your meeting notes and ensure prompt follow-up on any agreed upon requests for information, with the goal to maintain the momentum built during the event and move discussions toward concrete actions. At a minimum, you can always send an updated company deck.
  • Finally, don’t start late. It’s important to start early because schedules fill up quickly.

There are also some specific work-flow tips that people can easily miss, even for those experienced in using partnering systems:

  • One team member can alter everybody’s availability, so scheduling and coordinating can be concentrated into one person’s hands.
  • When a ‘missing availability’ situation arises and cannot be solved, you can add other team members with availability to the meeting and remove yourself.
  • Using the ‘tag’ page to shortlist companies is easier than downloading an excel file. Companies are constantly coming in, so the excel file gets quickly outdated.

Remember, it’s not just about lining up meetings though, as partnering events also provide insight into what indications and stages of development are trending. For instance, there was a lot of activity recently for late-stage products, and now there’s increased appetite for Phase 2 candidates and earlier.

Finally, it helps if you have more than one asset to talk about. As well as its monoclonal antibody therapy for treatment for ARDS, Edesa Biotech has at least three other assets available for out-licensing. EB07, also an anti-TLR4 mAb therapy, is for the treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, whilst EB06 is an anti-CXCL10 mAb therapy for treatment for vitiligo. Both EB06 and EB07 are ready to initiate a phase 2 PoC trial. The company is also developing an sPLA2 inhibitor, designated as EB01 (1% daniluromer), as a topical treatment for chronic allergic contact dermatitis, which is a common, potentially debilitating, condition and occupational illness. The company’s phase 2b trial demonstrated a statistically significant efficacy signal with a favorable safety profile. For more information check out the website: https://www.edesabiotech.com

Need some support using partneringONE? Check out our video tutorials, here.

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