Part 5
Licensor believes that they should be rewarded for their innovation immediately, through high upfronts and near term milestones
Licensee sees “risk”, as there is still a significant cost and time to get the asset to the market, and therefore is looking to pay as little as they can get away with in the near term, with significant milestone payments due once the product is on the market
Aligning expectations at an early stage of the process as to where an asset sits on its development pathway, is critical to a successful partnership and negotiation
From the outset, a licensor and licensee needs to be honest with each other
Once the asset has been licensed, a partnership is created and, if negative information is identified soon after signing the agreement, a licensor should expect to be subject to more scrutiny and oversight from the licensee on a weekly, if not daily basis
Ensuring alignment of knowledge at an early stage is critical to the success of the asset or platform and, to the financial and mental wellbeing of both parties