Big pharma looking for early-stage partners: GSK exec

Partnering with big pharma was increasingly occurring at the early stage of drug development, including pre-clinical and Phase I, a Melbourne conference was told today.

Ashley Bates, of GlaxoSmithKline Australia, cheered delegates at CSIRO's Biopharmaceuticals: From Concept to Clinic conference delegates by saying that the recent high-level pharmaceutical deal-flow was likely to continue.

Partnering deals were becoming increasingly creative, Bates said: "The old model of straight licensing is on the way out. There is a lot more inventiveness in this now, including out-licensing from big pharma to smaller companies."

But a strong patent portfolio and quality science were still key to a successful partnership with big pharma, he said.

Challenges facing Australian biotechs seeking big pharma partners included the "too-far-away" syndrome, Bates said. "But it shouldn't act as a deterrent."

Harder to overcome was the organisational complexity of big drug companies. "Sometimes it's quite hard to know where to go," he said.

While leveraging off existing contacts was one way, Bates said, he also suggested keeping the drug company's local branch in the loop.

Bates said that while GSK had successfully partnered a number of Australian companies in the past, it did not currently have any high-value deals down under. "But the types of things [we are looking for in a partner] are the things we do so well in Australia," he said.

Biopharmaceuticals: From Concept to Clinic continues until Saturday.