Investival ShowcaseMonday, 17 November 2025 - GMT (Greenwich Mean Time, GMTZ)

The biotech M&A landscape presents unique challenges and opportunities that differ significantly from other sectors. With extended development timelines, complex IP considerations, and specialized regulatory hurdles, biotech founders need tailored strategies to maximize value and ensure their innovations reach their full potential.

In this masterclass session we will delve into:

• Understanding the Biotech M&A Landscape
• Current trends in biotech acquisitions and valuations
• Valuation Methodologies for Biotech Companies
• Deal Structuring for Biotech Startups
• Due Diligence Preparation
• Negotiation Strategies and Tactics
• Post-Merger Integration for Scientific Teams

Unlock the secrets of successful pharma-startup partnerships in this masterclass designed specifically for life science entrepreneurs. Learn from industry experts who understand the complex dynamics of strategic alliances that can accelerate your innovation from lab to market.

• Demonstrate how early-stage pharma collaborations can significantly enhance your startup's validation and success rates

• Learn about the unique value a pharma-backed incubator facility can bring to your startup

• Equip you with tools to leverage partnerships for accessing critical resources, expertise, and market channels

• Include interactive sessions with industry experts who have successfully navigated partnerships from both sides of the table

This masterclass delves into the shifting landscape of licensing and partnering within the biopharma sector, offering actionable strategies for deal structuring, negotiation, and commercialization amid evolving market forces, regulatory frameworks, and technological innovation. Key focus areas include:

• Strategic Deal Structuring
  Aligning licensing and partnering models with long-term commercial objectives
• Capital Constraints and Deal Evolution
  Adapting deal terms to navigate tighter funding environments
• Regulatory and Market Access Dynamics
  Responding to policy changes and their implications for partnership models
• Technology Disruption: AI and Beyond
  Exploring how emerging technologies are reshaping IP strategy and deal-making
• Innovative Commercialization Pathways
  Trends in co-commercialization, regional licensing, and revenue-sharing frameworks
• Negotiation Mastery
  Practical techniques for driving value and securing strategic outcomes

• Status of the US IPO market in comparison to the EU/UK – current state of the US IPO market and outlook for the coming year
• Pre-IPO readiness check – what do you need in place to ensure you are in the best position for your IPO
• Understanding investor expectation and your equity story and why it is key to success – fireside chat
• What to expect from the IPO process – a summary view of the key elements of the active phase of the transaction
• Key lessons learned from previous transactions – highlighting the known unknowns
• Post-IPO and beyond – understanding your requirements as a listed company

This comprehensive masterclass equips life science entrepreneurs with essential strategies to build, protect, and leverage intellectual property assets that drive company valuation and create sustainable competitive advantages in the rapidly evolving healthcare innovation landscape.

This masterclass will:

• Provide practical frameworks for developing a strategic IP portfolio that aligns with your business objectives and therapeutic focus

• Deliver expert guidance on patent strategies specific to various life science modalities including biologics, gene therapies, and digital health

• Equip you with effective approaches to navigate freedom-to-operate challenges and competitive IP landscapes

• Demonstrate how to leverage IP assets in fundraising, partnerships, and exit strategies to maximize company valuation

• Guide you through critical decisions on global filing strategies and cost-effective IP management for resource-constrained startups

• Include interactive sessions with experienced IP attorneys and life science executives who have successfully built valuable IP portfolios

Topic to be confirmed

Recent years have seen a real terms decrease in VC investment into the life sciences sector. The pandemic bubble burst with returns not as fruitful as anticipated leading to a new wave of caution among investors. Here, we hear from real life examples of de-risking investment opportunities and strategies to best position your company for investment.

• The most common pitfalls in early-stage startups

• How to derisk your investment proposition

• Successful series A raising case studies

Successfully raising series A financing is cause for celebration in the current investment climate. However, for successful companies this will be the first of many successes and milestones. The next step once series A funding has been secured is instrumental in the long-term strategy of the company, CEOs should consider further funding rounds, capital markets and deal making when evaluating what comes next.

• What different growth and scaling routes look like in practice

• Further funding rounds, IPO, or acquisition?

• How to know which route is best for you

Regulatory complexity in life sciences M&A & investment isn’t just a legal hurdle—it’s a strategic factor that can make or break a deal. This panel will explore how investors, biotech leaders, and dealmakers should integrate regulatory foresight into their M&A strategy to unlock long-term value, avoid deal derailment, and ensure the post-acquisition phase is as seamless as possible. Industry experts will discuss the real commercial impact of regulatory risk, from shaping valuations as products pass through regulatory pathways, to navigating compliance pressures post-close

Key Discussion Points:

· How understanding regulatory risk can make or break deals

· Pre-completion strategy: how to set the deal up for success

· Beyond the close: turning compliance into a competitive advantage and avoiding reputational damage

Strategy and milestones are crucial factors for investors and stakeholders. These milestones and their timelines can often be affected by unforeseen circumstances, in such cases companies can seek bridge financing to extend their runway and increase chances of an exit. Our panel of investors share their thoughts on bridge financing, when it is needed and best practices for securing additional funding.

• Bridge financing, what is it and when should it be sought

• Pros and cons of bridge financing

• Investor opinion on funding to extend runways

• Evaluating the optimal timing for pharma partnerships as a post-Series B Biotech
• Identifying pharma partners based on strategic fit
• Exploring innovative partnership models
• How are Post Series B Biotech’s utilising deals with Pharma as an income stream?
• Balancing investor expectations and pharma deal making as a late growth stage biotech