In biopharma, signing the deal is just the end of the beginning, not the finish line. For a license or a partnership, a signed agreement can still become a failed one. Here’s what it takes to close a deal that is actually manageable.
The parties need governance, decision rights, escalation paths, and a practical working model. Without that, a deal that closed can still fail in year two.
So the working relationship has to start before the contract is signed.
At the end of a process, relationships matter more than people admit. The parties are tired. Lawyers are pushing. Boards are nervous. Every small issue feels larger. If trust is weak, normal negotiation becomes suspicion.
This is also where good advisors step back. We are not the party that signs the agreement. We are not the one engaged in it for the next three, five, or ten years. The two companies are.
The mistake is to own every conversation and keep the parties apart until signing. Better to let both sides build their own personal and working relationship during diligence, to gain each other’s respect and trust before the ink is dry. That makes the partnership easier to sign, and far easier to manage afterward.
That also means controlling the process without over-controlling the relationship. Every serious interaction should end with an owner, a next step, and a date. But the companies still need to learn how to work with each other directly.
Most of all, do not wait until signing to think about governance, integration, or alliance management.
Closing is not only legal execution. It is internal alignment, decision control, trust, timing, and preparation for life after signing.
The takeaway: a deal you can close is not the same as a deal you can live with. The best advisors make sure the deals they close are manageable, for the benefit of both parties and the patients they serve.
At KYBORA, we help Biopharma leaders close the right strategic transactions globally, by managing the whole closing system: the facts, the people, the approvals, the timing, the handoff into execution, and the trust that holds a deal together.
