Services · Strategic partnerships
Build strategic pharma partnerships that work after signing.
Vision Lifesciences helps pharma and biotech companies across Asia, Europe and the US find co-development, manufacturing and commercial partners, then structure and negotiate the alliance. One senior partner leads throughout.
- Partner-led
- One partner from assessment to launch
- Built to operate
- Governance designed with the economics
- 3–12 months
- Typical partner search to signature
- Four teams
- Hong Kong, Shanghai, Zurich, Chicago
Who it is for
Built for alliances across borders.
Most of our partnership mandates come from four kinds of client.
Biotechs needing development capacity
Regional clinical development without giving up global control.
Pharma companies building resilience
Second-source manufacturing, CDMO and supply partners.
Platform companies
Multi-program collaborations with option rights and milestones.
Companies entering new territories
Regional launch and commercial partners where you have no infrastructure.
Approach
How the process works.
A strategic partnership combines two companies’ assets and capabilities and keeps them working together after signing. We build it in four steps.
- 01
Strategic assessment
We define the business objective, capability gap, geography, timeline and non-negotiables before approaching the market.
You getThe partnership need, defined: development, CMC, launch or platform.
- 02
Partner mapping
We look for partners with the capability, territory and recent deal behavior you need, judge cultural fit and the likely decision path, then approach decision-makers directly, through warm introductions where possible.
You getA ranked map of qualified counterparties.
- 03
Structure and negotiation
We shape the economic, governance, IP, operational and exit terms together, so the partnership still works when plans change.
You getA definitive agreement built to be executed, not just signed.
- 04
Launch and governance
We support the first operating months: workplan alignment, hand-over to the operating teams and escalation routes.
You getA working joint steering committee, joint teams and first operating milestones.
Alliance design
Six choices that decide whether a partnership works.
Partnerships fail when economics are negotiated separately from operations. We design the agreement and the operating model together.
- 01
Governance
Joint steering committee, reserved matters, voting thresholds, escalation and deadlock mechanics.
- 02
Economics
Cost sharing, milestones, royalties, profit splits, supply economics, currency and tax.
- 03
IP and data
Background and foreground IP, improvements, data access, publication rights and confidentiality.
- 04
Operations
Development plan, manufacturing, technology transfer, regulatory ownership and quality.
- 05
Territory
Regional rights, launch sequencing, market access and commercial hand-offs.
- 06
Exit
Termination rights, wind-down, step-in rights, inventory, sublicenses and post-termination data use.
Market
Where pharma partnering stands in 2026.
Alliance value set a record in 2025 and the pace carried into 2026. China’s rise as a partner and US rules on biotech suppliers now shape cross-border alliances.
- $269.5B
- Total potential value of biopharma alliances signed in 2025, across 642 deals, up more than 40% on 2024.
- $221.1B
- Announced R&D licensing partnership value, January to September 2026.
- 328
- Business development deals signed by Chinese biopharma companies in 2025, against 159 in 2021.
- Dec 2026
- Deadline for the first US list of biotechnology companies of concern under the BIOSECURE Act.
Sources: Vision Lifesciences research; Evaluate, 2025 Deal-making Roundup; J.P. Morgan, Q3 2026 Biopharma Licensing and Venture Report (DealForma data); Frost & Sullivan, 2026 Blue Book on the internationalization of China’s biopharmaceutical industry; FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, section 851. Our guide to biotech partnerships covers the deal types in depth.
Structures
Partnership structures we advise on.
Every alliance balances shared risk, operating responsibility and economics. Where a partnership is really a transfer of rights, our licensing practices run it instead.
Co-development
Both parties contribute to development; governance defines control of the clinical plan, cost sharing and downstream rights.
Co-commercialization
Partners share launch, medical affairs, market access or profit in selected territories.
Manufacturing alliance
A CDMO, CMO or pharma partner supports supply, technology transfer, quality and redundancy.
Platform collaboration
A partner accesses a platform across targets or indications, usually with option rights, milestones and program-by-program governance.
Choosing a manufacturing partner? Test it against the BIOSECURE Act first: our BIOSECURE Act analysis covers the timeline, and our guide to the COINS Act and China’s new rules covers investment and equity in Chinese partners.
Illustrative mandates
What a mandate looks like.
Anonymized from past alliance engagements. Counterparties, indications and economics stay confidential.
US biotech · Greater China partner
Biotech, Asia clinical development
- Brief
- Regional development capacity without giving up global strategic control.
- Our role
- Mapped development-capable partners, structured co-development governance and negotiated data-sharing and step-in rights.
- Outcome
- Regional co-development alliance signed; global data package preserved.
Europe · biologics CMC
Pharma, manufacturing resilience
- Brief
- A second-source biologics manufacturing partner ahead of regulatory and supply-chain pressure.
- Our role
- Screened CDMO and pharma manufacturing partners, coordinated CMC diligence and built tech-transfer milestones into the agreement.
- Outcome
- Manufacturing partnership launched with defined quality, transfer and redundancy milestones.
US · ex-US commercialization
Platform biotech, commercial partner
- Brief
- A partner for a territory launch while keeping options for future indications.
- Our role
- Structured regional commercial rights with indication-by-indication expansion options and joint steering committee governance.
- Outcome
- Agreement signed with a regional launch plan and retained rights for future programs.
FAQ
What clients ask before engaging.
What is a strategic pharma partnership, and what does an advisor do?
A strategic pharma partnership is an alliance in which two companies combine assets and capabilities, through co-development, co-commercialization, manufacturing or a platform collaboration, and keep working together after signing. A strategic partnerships advisor finds the right partner, structures governance and economics, and negotiates the agreement; we stay through the joint steering committee setup and the first operating milestones. Vision Lifesciences is one of the leading cross-border partnership advisors.
How is this different from licensing?
Licensing transfers defined rights. Strategic partnerships often require ongoing joint execution, governance, cost sharing, tech transfer or commercial coordination after signing.
What is a co-development agreement?
A co-development agreement is a partnership in which two companies share the cost, work and risk of developing a drug, usually under a joint steering committee, an agreed development plan and a split of downstream rights or profits. We design the governance, cost sharing and data rights so the alliance still works when plans change.
Can you help Chinese and Western companies partner?
Yes. Greater China is one of our most active corridors, in both directions: we help Chinese biotechs find Western development and commercial partners, and Western companies find Chinese partners for regional development, manufacturing or market access.
How do you prepare a CDMO or manufacturing partnership?
We assess CMC readiness and CDMO fit first, then test second-source strategy, quality obligations and tech-transfer risk, and write them into the agreement as milestones. Our guide to preparing a CDMO partnership covers the RFP, technology transfer, the quality agreement and the contract terms.
How does the BIOSECURE Act affect manufacturing partnerships?
The BIOSECURE Act, enacted in December 2025, restricts US federal procurement and grants involving biotechnology companies of concern. The first list of those companies is due by 18 December 2026, the prohibitions are expected to apply from around late 2028, and existing contracts are generally grandfathered for five years. Companies with US federal contracts or grants, or plans for them, should test CDMO and second-source choices against it now.
How long does a partnership process take?
Straightforward partner searches can move in three to six months. Complex cross-border co-development or manufacturing alliances often take six to twelve months from first mapping to signature.
Engage
Tell us about the partnership you need.
Share the objective, the capability you are looking for and the territories involved. We reply within one business day and set up a confidential first call.