Business development is how a biotech turns science into deals, the partnerships, licenses, and collaborations that fund the company and get its drugs to patients. Yet most young biotechs treat BD as an afterthought, something the CEO does between everything else, until suddenly a partnering opportunity appears and there is no one and no process to handle it. Building a real BD function does not require a large team, but it does require intention. Here is how to build one from scratch.
What business development actually does
Before building it, be clear on what BD is for. In biotech, business development covers the deals that shape a company’s future: partnering and licensing (out-licensing your assets or in-licensing others’), collaborations with pharma and other partners, sometimes mergers and acquisitions, and the ongoing alliance management that keeps existing partnerships healthy. It is not sales, and it is not fundraising, though it touches both. At its core, BD is about identifying, negotiating, and managing the strategic relationships that a biotech cannot succeed without, because almost no biotech takes every program all the way to market alone.
When to build it
Timing matters. Very early, a founder or CEO can reasonably handle BD themselves, and should, because those early relationships are strategic. But a few signals indicate it is time to build a dedicated function: when partnering conversations start to multiply and outgrow the CEO’s bandwidth, when you have assets worth out-licensing, when you are actively seeking collaborations, or when a live deal demands sustained, professional attention. Building BD too early wastes money; building it too late means missed opportunities and deals handled badly. The goal is to add the function just as the need becomes real.
Who to hire first
The first BD hire is pivotal and sets the tone for everything after. You want someone with genuine biotech BD experience, who understands deal structures, the partnering landscape, and how pharma partners think, and who can operate with the scientific fluency to represent your programs credibly. In a small company, this person wears many hats, from strategy to negotiation to relationship-building, so seniority and versatility matter more than a large title. A strong first BD leader can, in effect, be the function for a while, bringing in specialized help as specific deals require. Hiring someone junior or without real deal experience for this seat is a common and costly mistake.
Build the pipeline and the target list
A functioning BD operation runs on a clear view of opportunities. Early on, that means building and maintaining a target list: the potential partners whose strategy and capabilities fit your assets, whether for out-licensing your programs or in-licensing to fill your pipeline. Understand what each potential partner is looking for, track their activity, and prioritize the relationships worth investing in. This is proactive work, not waiting for inbound interest. A simple, well-maintained system for tracking targets, contacts, and conversations, even a basic one at first, is far better than keeping it all in the CEO’s head.
Work the partnering ecosystem
Much of biotech BD happens through the partnering ecosystem, especially the major conferences built around one-to-one meetings. A new BD function should learn to work these events deliberately: identifying the right counterparts, booking meetings in advance, preparing tight materials, and, crucially, following up afterward, since the deals happen in the weeks after a conference, not during it. Building a rhythm around the key partnering events, and treating them as structured campaigns rather than trips, is one of the highest-leverage things a young BD function can do.
Do not forget alliance management
Closing a deal is the beginning, not the end. Once you have partnerships, someone has to manage them, keeping communication healthy, resolving issues, ensuring both sides meet their obligations, and protecting the relationship over years. This alliance management is often neglected by young companies focused on chasing new deals, but a poorly managed alliance can sour a valuable partnership and damage your reputation for the next one. Even a small BD function should assign clear ownership of existing relationships, not just new-deal hunting.
The mindset for building BD well
The companies that build BD successfully treat it as a strategic capability, not a reactive scramble. They add the function when the need becomes real, hire an experienced first leader who can do a lot with little, work proactively from a clear target list, engage the partnering ecosystem with discipline, and take alliance management seriously. Above all, they recognize that in biotech, the right deal at the right time can be as important as the science itself, and that requires the intention to build the muscle before you desperately need it. Start lean, hire well, and build the process, and BD becomes an engine rather than an emergency.
The tools and the operating rhythm
A BD function does not run on relationships alone; it needs simple systems and a steady cadence, and setting these up early prevents chaos as activity grows. On the tools side, even a lean operation benefits from a way to track its pipeline of opportunities and relationships, a customer-relationship or deal-tracking system, however basic, that captures who you are talking to, where each conversation stands, and what the next step is. Without this, knowledge lives only in one person’s head, and it evaporates when they are busy or leave. Beyond tracking, a young BD function should establish a regular rhythm: periodic reviews of the target list and active opportunities, disciplined preparation and follow-up around the key partnering conferences, and clear, honest reporting to leadership and the board on the state of the pipeline, since BD activity is something investors watch closely. A useful framing for a new BD leader is the first ninety days: get deeply fluent in the company’s science and assets, build or refine the target list of potential partners, map the relevant partnering landscape and upcoming conferences, and establish the basic systems and reporting cadence before the deal flow intensifies. Doing this groundwork early means that when a real opportunity appears, and it will, often with little warning, the function is ready to move quickly and professionally rather than scrambling. The companies that treat BD as a disciplined operation, with real tools and a predictable rhythm, consistently outperform those that treat it as a series of one-off reactions, because in dealmaking, being prepared and responsive is itself a competitive advantage that partners notice and reward.
The payoff of getting BD right
It is worth stepping back to see why all this effort matters. In biotech, the right deal at the right time can be as consequential as the science itself, funding the company, validating its platform, filling gaps in its pipeline, and getting drugs to patients faster than it could ever manage alone. A company with a strong, well-run business development function is positioned to seize those opportunities when they arise; a company without one watches them pass or handles them badly. That is why building the muscle deliberately, adding the function when the need becomes real, hiring an experienced first leader, working proactively from a clear target list, engaging the partnering ecosystem with discipline, and taking alliance management seriously, is not administrative overhead but a genuine strategic investment. The companies that treat BD as a core capability rather than an afterthought tend to do more and better deals, and in an industry where partnerships are the norm rather than the exception, that advantage compounds over time. Start lean, build the process before you desperately need it, and business development becomes an engine that turns your science into the relationships and capital that carry it forward.
To stay current on the deals, partnerships, and licensing activity that a strong BD function tracks, the BioMed Nexus daily brief is built for exactly that, and for the tactical side of partnering, see our guides on out-licensing a drug program and getting real ROI from partnering conferences.
Frequently asked questions
What does business development do at a biotech?
Biotech business development handles the strategic deals that shape a company: out-licensing and in-licensing assets, forming collaborations with pharma and other partners, sometimes mergers and acquisitions, and managing existing alliances. It is distinct from sales and fundraising, and it exists because almost no biotech takes every program to market alone.
When should a biotech hire its first business development person?
Build a dedicated BD function when partnering conversations outgrow the CEO's bandwidth, when you have assets worth out-licensing, when you are actively seeking collaborations, or when a live deal needs sustained professional attention. Building too early wastes money, while building too late leads to missed opportunities and deals handled poorly.
Who should be a biotech's first BD hire?
The first BD hire should have genuine biotech business development experience, understand deal structures and how pharma partners think, and have enough scientific fluency to represent the company's programs credibly. In a small company this person wears many hats, so seniority and versatility matter more than title. Hiring someone without real deal experience is a costly mistake.
