Biotube

So maybe 'LinkedIn' are the answer to my prayers. http://www.linkedin.com/in/domsmethurst . I have a network setup and people from 3 drug companies currently connected directly (in less than 24 hours) to me though obviously we would need a few more than that!Also I heard from one source that auctions have previosuly been done successfully by drug companies. These auctions tend to happen electronically and typically over a few weeks- its not like everyone in a room bidding or anything so open. The other comment that I heard was that the 'claw backs' can be a suppurating feature of many negotiations. By 'claw backs' I mean clauses that allow the vendor to retain selling rights in a particular territory or in a particular indication. Whilst I can appreciate this might cause problems I also think that the willingness of a company to retain some sort of investment in a drug likewise shows thier commitment to its success. For those of you not versed in game theory I will describe the bidder's curse according to my somewhat prosaic understanding of it at least. This curse applies to any bidder who wins a bidding round in a standard auction. They are, by standard market definition, cursed because they have offered over the average bid price. The only bidders that can win against the curse are one's for whom the object of the bid is genuinely worth more or one's who have extra information about the object of the bid. The problem here is that the vendor often retains the greatest insight into what it is that they are selling and therefore has to come up with a bona fide reason for wanting to sell. When the vendor retain's 'goodwill' or retains a portion of the sale in 'so-called' shared-equity then the sale may be perceived as being more equal or less risky. The discussion goes on, thanks to everyone for thier input.