BD Masterclass in the Era of AI, MFN and China
Zurich, Switzerland
February 28 – March 2, 2027
Held in the days before the Sachs conference
In collaboration with Baker McKenzie and the Swiss Healthcare Licensing Group.
Two and a half days. Small groups. Real pharma dealmakers across the table.
About Novateur Academy
Immersive, practice-based training for life-science executives, taught by people who do the work.
Novateur Academy, the education arm of Novateur Ventures, combines concise instruction with real-world exercises, coaching and negotiation. Faculty are drawn from global pharma, investment firms and law firms so participants can practise the decisions and conversations that matter in actual deals.
The Zurich edition
The Zurich 2027 edition combines pharma BD fundamentals with a live licensing negotiation led by experienced dealmakers.
The curriculum adds three forces reshaping transactions: AI in sourcing and diligence, US most favoured nation pricing, and China as a major source of assets and counterparties. Held immediately before the Sachs conference so participants can apply the learning that week.
- Where
- Zurich, Switzerland (venue to be announced)
- When
- Sunday February 28 to Tuesday March 2, 2027
- Who it is for
- CEOs, founders and BD leads at venture backed biotech companies preparing to partner or license
- Partners
- Baker McKenzie and the Swiss Healthcare Licensing Group
- Format
- 2.5 days, teams of five or six, each paired with two or three BD experts
Partners in Zurich
Baker McKenzie contributes legal and cross-border deal expertise across confidentiality, IP, diligence and term sheets.
Swiss Healthcare Licensing Group connects the masterclass with Switzerland’s licensing and business-development community and the wider European pharma ecosystem.
Instructors
The masterclass is taught by experienced global pharma BD executives.
Instructors at previous courses came from organizations including:
Zurich faculty will be announced in the coming weeks.
What you will leave knowing
- What business development actually entails inside a pharmaceutical company, and how it is organized
- The types of strategic alliance, and the trade offs of each
- How to prepare for a BD process: the pitch deck, the data room, the due diligence that follows
- How to handle confidentiality when disclosing to prospective and current partners
- How to manage intellectual property in a novel technology, and within a licensing agreement
- The licensing agreement process, its timelines, and what to expect
- The key elements of a term sheet and how they are negotiated
- How to value an asset using a target product profile, forecasting and risk adjusted NPV
- How to build and manage the relationship with a partner, before and after close
Seven modules, each with a lecture and a hands on activity
- 1
Overview of BD
Why BD matters in pharma, how it is organized, and the categories of deal.
- 2
Preparing for partnerships
The BD process, identifying partners, running successful meetings, presentations and managing stakeholder expectations.
Activity: choosing the right licensing approach and the right corporate partners - 3
Confidentiality and IP rights
Disclosure through the life of a partnership, and the IP considerations that matter most.
Activity: working through a technology evaluation agreement - 4
Due diligence
Why it matters, how to prepare, a suggested data room structure, and the common pitfalls.
Panel: managing due diligence, with biotech, pharma and legal perspectives - 5
Anatomy of a licensing deal
Deal types and structures, the details of a term sheet, and the process and timelines from first call to close.
Activity: spotting favourable and unfavourable terms on a term sheet - 6
Valuation
Target product profile, expense forecasting, patient based forecasting and risk adjusted NPV.
Activity: defining a TPP and calculating NPV for your own company - 7
Relationship management
Finding the right partner, engagement and negotiation, and the post close alliance.
How the two-and-a-half days run
Day 1: building the foundation
- Opening and icebreaker
- Overview of BD
- Preparing for BD partnerships
- Panel on AI
- Introduction to the case study
- Meet your facilitators and mentors
Day 2: the six core modules
- Confidentiality and IP
- Pharma panel on MFN
- Due diligence, with panel
- Anatomy of a licensing deal
- Valuation, TPP and NPV
- Reverse pitches from global pharma
- Evening work session with mentors
Day 3: pitch and negotiate
- Global pharma panel
- Relationship management
- Legal pitfalls, taught through real cases
- Team pitch presentations
- Mock negotiations with pharma representatives
- Graduation, reception and networking
The case study is the course
Teams work on a mock biotech with a platform-derived preclinical asset and an IND-stage asset, then prepare and negotiate a pharma licensing deal.
- Choose the lead asset and define its target product profile
- Build a risk-adjusted NPV
- Create and deliver the BD pitch
- Negotiate a term sheet with pharma representatives
Teams are assessed on participation, pitch and negotiation. The winning team receives a round-trip ticket to the next BIO-Europe or Jefferies.
Previous courses
-
2020
Seoul
Built at the request of the Korea Drug Development Fund; 45 biotech BD executives.
-
2023
Toronto
Delivered for the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization; 35 Canadian biotech BD executives.
-
2025
Vancouver
Delivered with Life Sciences BC and supported by NRC IRAP; 30 Canadian BD executives and CEOs.
-
2027
Zurich
First European edition, in collaboration with Baker McKenzie and Swiss HLG.
What participants say
The case study: there is no other way I could have learned what I learned other than being in an immersive, time pressured, no way to do it perfectly teamwork situation. Having pharma expertise as coaches and as judges was invaluable.Vancouver cohort, 2025
The negotiation was the most valuable part of the course. I don't think you can find an experienced pharma to do a mock negotiation with outside of this course.Toronto cohort, 2023
This is one of the best continuing education experiences I've had, and I have done many international trainings in my career. Great calibre of presenters, judges, coaches and participants.Vancouver cohort, 2025
Loved that the course covered both the science of BD, valuation and term sheets, and the art of BD, relationships and soft skills.Toronto cohort, 2023
Join us in Zurich
Seats are limited to preserve a high facilitator-to-participant ratio. Complete the short form below to request a seat, or write to us for the full agenda.
Request a seatForm not showing? Open it in a new tab or email academy@novateur.org.
