Biotech-in-a-box™️

Biotech companies are now at the forefront of innovation in the search for new cures. They are responsible for about 70 percent of global clinical trials (of which 42 percent are in partnership) and for the development of nearly half of FDA-approved medicines in 2018. However, they face substantial challenges to the development of their business, such as securing IP rights, managing R&D, raising funds (including from an IPO), launching a product or product portfolio, and expanding geographically. Next generation therapies (such as gene and cell therapies) add another layer of complexity to managing regulatory, supply chain and patient concerns.

Geographical expansion into Europe

Typically, Biotech companies focus their limited resources on either the US market or their market of origin. A critical first step for global expansion is the entry into Europe, which accounts for over 20 percent of the global pharmaceutical market. Europe however is a complex market with separate national healthcare systems and reimbursement processes.

Business success in such a complex environment involves going beyond traditional thinking about geographical expansion, and requires a clear understanding of the unique requirements from a development, manufacturing, distribution, commercial and operational perspective.

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Advantages of Switzerland for Biotech companies

Given the disaggregated European market for Biotech companies wanting to expand, Switzerland offers five major advantages as the initial point of entry:

• Innovation
  Number 1 in the Global Innovation Index
• Talent
  Highly skilled work force, world-class universities and numerous partnerships
• Infrastructure/ life sciences network
  Free trade agreements with the EU (and others), multiple life science hubs, internationally-recognised network
• Regulatory
  Integration with EU regulations, support for foreign businesses, application approvals by a single national authority
• Tax
  A stable and predictable tax environment, patent box and R&D super-deduction, tax holidays, business-friendly tax authorities

‘ACE framework’ – a three-step game plan

Based on our experience in helping Biotech companies navigate geographical expansion, we have identified three essential steps:

• Assess potential: Agree on guiding principles for the European business; and assess the commercial opportunities, route-to-market options, and associated costs across the European markets
• Consider options: Select the most appropriate go-to-market options using a set of strategic criteria (e.g. investment required, time to value, complexity to manage, resources required), align on the priority factor(s) for decision-making, and define the cut-off points for a go/ no-go decision
• Establish presence: Choose the best route to establish a presence in Europe successfully, which could be either via a partnership or licensing route, or via the company choosing to go alone

European entry ‘must haves’

Before making a decision on which go-to-market route to follow, it is important to understand what is required to launch products in Europe e.g. without a partner, including the ‘must-haves’ for commercialisation in the European market, associated costs, required investment for business activities (such as running marketing campaigns) and hiring FTEs. It is also crucial to consider all the organisational functions in the business and determine what contribution should be required from each when it comes to the build-up of the European operation. For that purpose, Biotech executives should ask themselves the following questions:
 

• What is the size of the market, and how do we get reimbursement?
• What should be the go-to-market strategy?
• What should be the launch strategy and plan?
• What regulatory and market authorisations are needed?
• Where should the intellectual property (IP) be located?
• How should the financing be organised?
• How should the operations be set-up (including legal entities set-up), and where should the company be based in Europe?
• What people are needed, and where?