Distribution Channels & Strategic Partners

TCG has significant experience in assisting clients with all aspects of licensing and strategic partnering. Since 2005, we helped a veterinary products enter into a joint product development and marketing agreement.  We also helped a German informatics company develop successful partnerships for US distribution.  In these engagements, TCG was responsible for developing the partnering strategy, identifying target partners and negotiating the partnership agreement.

TCG does more than just bring parties together.  We use our knowledge of deal trends in each industry to better plan your objectives and then bring our contacts through professional organizations and meetings like the Licensing Executives Society (LES) and BIO to reach the best potential partners.  In addition, we help the parties  work to truly achieve the kinds of expectations each has in the first place: a synergistic relationship and a successful outcome. TCG has found that the most successful partnerships are those where the partner has been carefully selected and, further, that the agreement provides incentives for success and clearly defines the processes by which the partners will work together throughout the lifetime of the agreement.

Doing all of this correctly is critical because the overall business objectives of each partner invariably change over time.  Partnership structures and agreements must account for how the parties will evolve and yet continue to work together in the most effective way possible.

When partnering with European companies, you must be aware of the culktural differences. An interview with Dr. Bob. Keefer, originally published in the Triangle Tech Journal, gives valuable hints.

"Commercialization is all part of brand management, how you build a brand. The companies who specialize in this may prove very helpful" says Dr. Robert Keefer. Read "Companies Supporting Other Companies" from The State of Life Sciences in North Carolina (Supplement) in The Scientist.