Commercialization Strategies of Biotechnology Companies

In the biotechnology industry today, there are many business models for project commercialization. These models range from independent vertical integration to certain forms of collaboration with pharmaceutical companies to complete acquisitions of projects by the big pharmaceutical companies. In this thesis, we wanted to study commercialization strategies of several biotechnology companies. We wanted to investigate the rational for commercialization decisions and the consequence of these decisions on biotechnology firms'. Thus, we conducted interviews with either founders or senior managers of business development of nine biotechnology firms to address these issues. Our results demonstrate that biotechnology firms reluctantly enter partnership agreements with pharmaceutical companies. In addition, there are delays in the negotiation process before agreements are reached, which can have negative impact on biotechnology firms. Furthermore, concentration on core competencies and the presence of champions at the pharmaceutical partners are two essential elements of successful commercialization for biotechnology firms. Thesis Supervisor: Scott Stem Title: Assistant Professor of Management