Valuation in Life Sciences: A Practical Guide

Valuation is a hot topic among life sciences professionals. There is no clear understanding on how to use the different valuation approaches and how to determine input parameters. Some do not value at all, arguing that it is not possible to get realistic and objective numbers out of it. Some claim it to be an art. In the following chapters we will provide the user with a concise val- tion manual, providing transparency and practical insight for all dealing with valuation in life sciences: project and portfolio managers, licensing executives, business developers, technology transfer managers, entrep- neurs, investors, and analysts. The purpose of the book is to explain how to apply discounted cash flow and real options valuation to life sciences p- jects, i.e. to license contracts, patents, and firms. We explain the fun- mentals and the pitfalls with case studies so that the reader is capable of performing the valuations on his own and repeat the theory in the exercises and case studies. The book is structured in five parts: In the first part, the introduction, we discuss the role of the players in the life sciences industry and their p- ticular interests. We describe why valuation is important to them, where they need it, and the current problems to it. The second part deals with the input parameters required for valuation in life sciences, i.e. success rates, costs, peak sales, and timelines.

This book is the first complete guide to valuation in life sciences for industry professionals, investors, and academics. Boris Bogdan and Ralph Villiger introduce the characteristics of drug and medical device development, explain how to translate these into the valuation, and provide valuable industry data. After guiding the reader through the theory of valuation, including DCF, decision trees, and real options, the authors demonstrate how to value projects, patents, licences, firms, and stocks on real-life examples, even treating complex licence and company structures. Special emphasis is put on the practicability of the proposed methods by including many hands-on examples, without compromising on realistic results.

The 3^rd edition of the successful work includes new studies about success rates and about drug development in the biotech industry and their influence on valuation.