Economics Drives Partnership Deals for Biotech Companies

PALO ALTO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 18, 2006 -- Access to non-dilutive financing and the strengths and capabilities of the partner are the key drivers of biotech companies' partnerships with pharmaceutical and large biopharmaceutical companies, according to a survey of 124 biotech and pharmaceutical companies, as well as industry advisors, conducted recently by Cooley Godward Kronish LLP and Technology Vision Group LLC (TVG). Nearly half of biotech companies surveyed (46 percent) said their company's main objective in a corporate partnering deal is to obtain non-dilutive financing. Only seven percent said their main objective is to access technology or products and six percent partner to access necessary infrastructure.

When asked to list the two most important factors in a corporate partnering deal, 53 percent of the 61 biotech companies surveyed listed strength and capabilities of the partner as the most important criteria, followed by total economics of the deal (47 percent). "Upfront" economics, meaning licensing fee and committed near-term payments, ranked third with 33 percent.

While half of the pharmaceutical companies surveyed are seeking to complete deals with companies with assets in the Phase 1 or Phase 2 of development, 61 percent of biotechnology companies surveyed are seeking to strike deals for assets at the discovery stage, or preclinical compounds. Only 14 percent of pharmaceutical companies are seeking partnerships with companies with drugs in these stages.

"These data demonstrate that corporate partnering deals are a fundamental, and growing, driver of success in the life sciences business, both for biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical companies," said Barclay Kamb, partner in Cooley's life sciences practice group. "Given that the capital markets remain challenging to biotech companies, corporate partnerships are a critical source of the financing as well as infrastructure necessary for biotech companies to achieve their strategic goals."

Responses confirm that biopartnering remains strong. Ninety percent of companies surveyed intend to do one or more corporate partnering deals and/or other similar strategic alliances in the next two years. Half of these respondents plan to complete three to six deals in this timeframe, while 17 percent anticipate completing ten or more deals in the next 24 months. Slightly more than 60 percent of companies surveyed viewed an increasing number or value of deals as the current trend in the industry with respect to corporate partnering deals, while 20 percent are seeing fewer deals or deal value, or the trend saying the same.

According to Burrill and Company Quarterly Reports, through the first half of 2006, overall deal value is up more than 34 percent from the first half of 2005 -- $8.3 billion in 2006 versus $6.2 billion in 2005.

The survey was conducted during the 14th Annual BioPartnering Europe Conference, held last week in London. The conference is produced annually by Technology Vision Group LLC (TVG), sponsored by law firm Cooley Godward Kronish LLP and attended by more than 1,200 executives from biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Representatives from 23 pharmaceutical companies and 61 biotechnology companies completed the survey.

Over the past 25 years, Cooley has built one of the most integrated and comprehensive life sciences legal practices in the world. The firm has represented nearly 30 percent of the companies on the NASDAQ Biotechnology and BioCentury 100 Indices and more than half of the companies on the AMEX Biotech Index. Today, the firm represents more than 500 U.S. and global life sciences companies, both publicly and privately held, in nearly all aspects of their business.

About Cooley Godward Kronish LLP

Cooley Godward Kronish's 550 attorneys have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive experience, and are committed to solving clients' most challenging legal matters. From small companies with big ideas to international enterprises with diverse legal needs, Cooley Godward Kronish has the breadth of legal resources to enable companies of all sizes to seize opportunities in today's global marketplace. The firm represents clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors, including technology, life sciences, financial services, retail and energy.

The firm has full-service offices in major commercial, government and technology centers: Palo Alto, CA, New York, NY, San Diego CA, San Francisco, CA, Reston, VA, Broomfield, CO and Washington, DC.

For additional information, please visit www.cooley.com.

About Technology Vision Group LLC (TVG)

Founded in 1992, Technology Vision Group LLC (TVG) has been at the forefront of life science business innovation, with clients in over 50 countries. For nearly 15 years, TVG has developed innovative methods to help life science companies attract partners and investors, acquire new products and technologies, and to achieve a variety of other strategic business development goals and initiatives. Technology Vision Group LLC is the annual producer of BioPartnering Europe, BioPartnering North America, and C21 BioVentures, and creator and developer of biopartnering.com, the premier life science conference collaboration tool.

Please visit www.techvision.com for more information on how Technology Vision Group LLC is growing life science business development brands.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Zach Olsen Infinite Public Relations 415-252-1121 zolsen@infinitepr.com