Turning a Drug Patent into a Reliable Revenue Stream
LA BioMed, a non-profit medical research and education institute, patented a drug it developed to treat Hurler's disease – which affects an estimated 60,000 children worldwide.
LA BioMed hoped to benefit financially from this patent over the long-term by licensing it to a well-known pharmaceutical company. However, when LA BioMed faced some short-term liquidity issues, it sought our assistance to monetize its royalty stream from the patented drug.
We made this happen by negotiating an agreement with an investment firm that provided our client with a significant upfront payment for half of the expected royalties from sales of the drug. Given the worldwide sales potential, we were also able to obtain commitments from the investment firm to pay additional amounts to LA BioMed if certain sales "milestones" were met (all of which have occurred to date).
LA BioMed's drug will improve the health of children facing daunting survival rates from a rare but debilitating disease. The deal has also helped LA BioMed financially despite the current state of the economy and the drop in traditional grant funding from the National Institute of Health.