Risk Sharing Joint Ventures and Options
Risk Sharing Joint ventures and options are common risk-sharing methods in the biotech- nology and pharmaceutical fields. For example, in 2016 Bayer and start-up CRISPR Therapeutics launched a joint venture to develop new drugs using CRISPR, which edits DNA precisely. The US-based firm Kite Pharma and the Chinese firm Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical launched a joint venture to develop and manufacture cancer drugs. The main goals were to give Kite access to the Chinese market (plus additional funds for research) and to give Chinese patients access to advanced medications. The two firms share product development and marketing decisions.
Biotechnology entails significant risk. Only about 5 percent of interventions that pass toxicity tests get approved for public marketing, so reducing the costs of research and development represents another motive for joint ventures (ide- ally with a low-cost partner). For example, Amgen reports that it has two joint ventures, ten partnerships, 15 collaborators, and eight acquisitions. Its partners include investment firms, multinational pharmaceutical firms, small biotechnology companies, and equipment manufacturers. Such partnerships allow Amgen to diversify its portfolio of poten- tial products and reduce its fixed costs. Both strategies reduce risk.
