Building More Effective Partnering Presentations

Written by: Sean Zeng, Ph.D., MBA and Claudio Rota, Ph.D.

When organizations pursue partnerships, whether to secure funding, accelerate drug development, or license a promising technology, the quality of their presentation can determine the outcome. Potential partners review dozens, if not hundreds, of proposals annually, leaving only a brief window to capture their attention. 

The key question on every recipient’s mind is: “Where is the value for us?”. If this question is not answered promptly and clearly, the audience will likely disengage. 

This white paper explores strategies for effectively answering that question at each stage of the partnering process. We discuss the types of presentations used in different stages, explain how to tailor content to specific audiences, and provide practical tips on organization, style, and confidentiality. 

The goal is to equip readers with actionable guidance for creating presentations that clearly communicate value, engage the partner, and move the opportunity forward.

Executive Summary

• Answer the Value Question: Quickly convey “Where is the value for us?” to capture partner attention and spark interest.

• Highlight Opportunity Potential: Clearly explain the unmet need, market size, clinical impact, and what makes the opportunity unique.

• Address Risks & Mitigation: Identify key risks and explain how and when they can be managed to reduce uncertainty and cost.

• Show Value Capture: Outline the resources, actions, and development path required to realize the opportunity’s full potential.

• Tailor & Simplify: Match detail level to the audience using teasers, one-pagers, or non-confidential decks; prioritize clarity, readability, and strong visuals.

• Guide Engagement: Organize content logically, use slide titles as takeaways, and include contact info with a clear call to action to advance discussions.

The Partnering Process

The partnering process parallels a traditional sales cycle and typically involves the following steps:

1. Understand the offering: Know the unique value of your drug or technology.

   
   

2. Shortlist potential partners: Target companies with strategic fit.

   
   

3. Listen and qualify: Assess whether prospective partners represent a strong strategic fit.”

   
   

4. Propose deal concepts: Introduce potential collaboration models.

   
   

5. Negotiate agreements: Work out terms and conditions.

   
   

6. Collaborate and execute: Ensure successful partnership implementation.

Partners also follow a process that typically moves from: 

•  Non-confidential presentations

•  Signing confidentiality agreements (CDAs/NDAs)

•  Due diligence

•  Term sheets, sometime LOIs (letter of intents)

•  Negotiation/Offer 

•  Final or definitive agreements

Pharma companies may review more than 300 opportunities annually within a single therapeutic area, yet typically execute only 2–5 licensing agreements per year (see Figure 1). A partnering presentation should be designed to move to the next step by clearly presenting the information a partner needs to assess value.

What Partners Want to Know

Partners have a limited amount of time and attention, so a successful presentation addresses the questions they care about most. Partnering presentations should address four core questions:

Why this opportunity? Highlight the unmet needs it addresses, what makes it unique, and how it compares to existing or emerging solutions.

Potential. Describe the overall opportunity, including market size, adoption potential, and clinical impact, including mechanism of action.

Risks and Mitigation. Highlight key risks and when they can be managed, considering data completeness, stability, pharmacokinetics, manufacturability, and other practical factors. Early mitigation reduces cost and effort.

Value Capture. Define the actions, resources, and investment needed to realize the opportunity’s full potential. Partners want to see the development path, including regulatory and reimbursement strategy, even for early-stage opportunities.

Types of Presentations

Presentations vary by stage and should match the partner’s filtering process. Tailor the level of detail to the audience, typically scientific but not deeply specialized in the specific opportunity. Avoid jargon and provide context so points are meaningful.

Elevator Pitch or Teaser. The elevator pitch, or its written equivalent, the teaser, is designed to spark initial interest. It is brief - usually four to five key points - and highlights why the opportunity is compelling. The goal is not to provide comprehensive detail but to secure the next step in the dialogue. A teaser should clearly answer “Why this opportunity?” and show how it differs from other options in the market. It’s designed to spark interest and secure the next meeting. It’s not a mission statement; instead, provide 4–5 key bullets showing strategic fit and differentiation.

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Example:

ACME is developing a first-in-class, IND-ready mRNA therapeutic designed to transform the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease. This innovative approach positions it as a category-defining therapy in the multi-billion-dollar global obesity and liver disease market.

Preclinical highlights:

• Robust efficacy in murine models: reduced hepatic fat, glucose, etc.

• Favorable safety and tolerability across GLP studies.

• IND-enabling package complete

Call to action: Seeking partners to in-license technology for clinical studies

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One-Pager. The one-pager, also known as an Executive Summary, is a concise document that provides slightly more detail than the teaser. It introduces the opportunity, outlines its potential, highlights what makes it unique, and explains the type of partnership sought. A well-crafted one-pager enables partners to quickly evaluate the opportunity and decide whether to advance a more in-depth discussion. Placement of the most important information at the top-left is strategic, as this is where readers naturally begin scanning a document. A one-pager can be a useful handout, including:

• Brief description of the opportunity

• Potential value

• Mechanism of Action

• Intellectual Property

• Competitive advantage

• Development opportunity

• Contact information

Tip: Place the most critical information at the top-left, where readers’ eyes naturally begin.

Non-Confidential Deck. The non-confidential deck is the primary tool for conveying detailed information to a prospective partner. Typically consisting of 20–30 slides, it answers the key questions outlined above while remaining accessible to a diverse audience. Unlike investor pitches, you will want to emphasize the “what” —the drug or technology—over the ‘who,’ such as the team or advisory board. The price/valuation is secondary and generally discussed later in the process. Clear organization is important. Slides should have titles that act as take-home messages, guiding the audience through the logic of the presentation. Visuals should be clear, well-labeled, and reinforced with concise explanatory text. Complex graphs can benefit from arrows, circles, or labels to emphasize key points.

Key distinctions from investor pitches:

• Focus on the “what” (drug/technology) over the “who” (team, advisory board).

• Pricing is generally secondary; strategic fit comes first.

Design and clarity tips:

• Avoid labeling content as confidential without a CDA.

• Exclude proprietary information unless already public.

• Deck must communicate clearly to a team of experts who may not have attended your presentation.

• Consider two versions: a simplified deck for live presentation and a self-contained deck for independent review.

• Clarity suggestion: Include a sample slide layout or visual example for better guidance.

Organization and Style

A well-organized presentation is easier to follow and more persuasive. The first content slide, immediately after the title, should clearly answer the question “What is the partner value proposition?”, setting the stage for the rest of the presentation. 

Common organizational frameworks include:

• Problem → Solution

• Preclinical → Clinical → Manufacturing

• Efficacy → Safety → Manufacturing

• Claims for superiority → Supporting evidence

Slide titles should communicate the primary takeaway, enabling the audience to grasp key messages even when skimming the deck. Text should be concise, with fragments rather than complete sentences for easier reading. 

Line spacing of at least 6 points improves readability, and color, bolding, and white space help highlight key points.

For graphs and complex figures, provide clear takeaway messages above or next to the figure. Use arrows, circles, and color-coded labels to guide the reader’s attention. 

Finally, convert the deck into a PDF file under 3 MB to ensure smooth electronic sharing.

Summary

A successful partnering presentation is designed to answer, “Where is the value for us?” at every stage, from teaser to one-pager to non-confidential deck. Partners typically want to know:

• Why this opportunity?

• What is its potential?

• What are the risks

• What will it take to capture the value?

Clarity, simplicity, and readability are essential to success. Strong slide titles, logical flow, and clear visuals help convey the opportunity effectively. Contact information should always be included and easily visible. 

By applying these principles, companies can create presentations that engage partners, clearly convey value, and accelerate opportunities toward successful collaborations.

About The Authors

Sean Zeng, Ph.D, MBA brings more than a decade of experience in contract licensing and business development across the life sciences sector, with a strong background in project management, corporate development, and financial evaluation of licensing opportunities. He has held senior corporate roles at multiple biotechnology firms, where he successfully led and negotiated both in-licensing and out-licensing transactions. In addition, Dr. Zeng has over 15 years of research and development experience, spanning project management and competitive intelligence analysis at leading biopharmaceutical companies and academic institutes in the United States and China. He earned his bachelor’s degree in microbiology and immunology from Wuhan University, his Ph.D. in cell Biology and genetics from Vanderbilt University, and his MBA from the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Zeng is also an active member of the Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. and Canada).

Claudio Rota, Ph.D. is the Founder and Managing Director of Outbound Pharma, a boutique consultancy supporting business development in the life sciences sector. With over 20 years of international experience, he has led 120+ BD&L projects across many therapeutic areas. Dr. Rota was founder of LxGroup, a life science licensing company connecting early stage assets with the private sector. He now works with a global client base that includes many of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies and supports hundreds of organizations in scaling their commercial efforts. Before founding Outbound Pharma in 2017, he held senior M&A and BD&L roles at Dentsply Sirona, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, university tech transfer, and pharmaceutical spin-offs. His expertise spans IP licensing, forecasting and strategy consulting across global markets. Claudio holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester, a B.S. in Physics from Southern Polytechnic State University, and a Masters in Fundraising from Bologna Business School.