Case Studies Archive - Alacrita

Benchmarking deal terms & formulating negotiating positions for AI discovery company

Written by Cort | May 13, 2024 8:56:26 PM

Project Challenge:

Our client was a company on which we had conducted due diligence for an investor approached us for support with a potential deal with an AI discovery company. The concept was to harness the potential of signatures identified by the AL/ML algorithm to create specific microbial cocktails aimed at specific disease indications. The client recognized that this was a somewhat speculative, blue-sky project, but with low initial outlay and a potentially lucrative project opportunity. Our client requested support in benchmarking relevant deal terms and formulating structures and negotiating positions that he could propose to his board and potentially to the prospective partner.

Project Solution:


Alacrita worked with a veteran dealmaker who collated the (few) relevant deal benchmarks that could be used/adapted for this purpose. She proposed a standard back-loaded deal structure and set out a range of approaches to negotiations. During this process, the Alacrita Managing Partner working alongside pointed out the technical uncertainties and potential shortcomings of the approach and found a number of publications that suggested the insights presented by the AI partner were not previously unknown.


Licensing and Deal-making Support

Alacrita frequently support clients with both in-licensing and out-licensing, across a range of disease areas and technologies. Our approach is flexible and can be tailored to mesh seamlessly with our clients' internal capabilities and activities. For those, looking for more extensive support, we can also take on full responsibility for out-licensing mandates.

Click here for more information on our licensing and deal-making expertise.