The biopharma market has been highly active throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with a substantial focus on strategic alliances between 2020-H1 2021. Partnership deals present exciting liquidity and risk mitigation opportunities for early-stage companies. Small molecules still comprise the largest segment of partnered drugs, but alliances for other modalities are on the rise.
Published in In Vivo, November 2021
Authors: Dr. Nicholas Frame and Dr. Oded Ben-Joseph
Abstract:
The biopharma market has been highly active throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with a substantial focus on strategic alliances between 2020-H1 2021. Partnership deals present exciting liquidity and risk mitigation opportunities for early-stage companies. Small molecules still comprise the largest segment of partnered drugs, but alliances for other modalities are on the rise.
This article examines the quiet but profound reset underway in U.S. biotech, triggered by a rare combination of forces: delayed or reduced federal funding, large pharma cutting mid-stage partnerships, and venture capital pulling back as exits evaporate. Based on insights from Dr. Stanislav Glezer, it reveals a market splitting in two — with capital chasing late-stage and very early assets while Phase 1–2 companies are stranded in the middle. The piece also exposes how government uncertainty, shrinking NIH support, and overlooked patient-behavior realities are forcing founders to rethink their entire company lifecycle. In today’s environment, survival requires new strategies, new geographies, and a deeper understanding of human factors that no protocol can fix.
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