Mergers & Acquisitions and Partnerships in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Course overview

Build your expertise to structure and execute high-stakes pharmaceutical deals with confidence while mastering the complex cross-border requirements driving modern M&A and licensing in the pharma sector.

This highly practical training course will strengthen your capability to deliver compliant, value-focused transactions from strategy through to integration.

This advanced course is designed for leaders and specialists who need to navigate the fast-moving regulatory, commercial and compliance landscape governing pharma M&A, licensing and partnership execution.

As deal structures grow more complex and global scrutiny intensifies, organisations need teams capable of designing transactions that are strategically sound, value-accretive and compliant from diligence through post-close integration.

This training course delivers that capability through immersive, case-driven learning built around real datasets, model templates and negotiation simulations.

Across three full days, participants work through the complete deal lifecycle - from strategic design and valuation to regulatory approvals, integration planning and compliance embedding.

Modules include deal structuring, rNPV-driven asset valuation, regulatory and antitrust execution, MAH/PV transfer mechanics, financial reporting impacts, and the latest UK and global risk frameworks (NSI Act, CMA/EU/US merger control, sanctions, ABAC, GDPR/UK GDPR).

Practical workshops and role-plays apply each concept using pharmaceutical examples and contemporary market data.

Delegates will gain a deeper strategic understanding of pharma transactions and the confidence to manage high-risk, cross-functional deal processes.

They will gain practical tools for diligence, valuation, integration planning and compliance assessment - sharpening decision-making skills and reducing execution risk.

The practical format of the training course will enable participants to return to their roles better equipped to design, negotiate and deliver successful transactions in a highly regulated and competitive sector.

During this highly interactive training course, the expert trainer uses a balanced mix of:

Case-led workshops

: Real-world transactions drawn from leading pharma M&A cases

Financial & operational modelling

: Hands-on exercises in valuation, synergy mapping, and IFRS-based purchase accounting (PPA)

Negotiation exercises

: Participants negotiate SPA and JV term sheets covering warranties, ABAC, regulatory, and PV covenants

Compliance deep dives

: Structured sessions linking finance and governance to legal frameworks and disclosure requirements

: A team-based scenario integrating regulatory clearances, ABPI/EFPIA transparency, DSCSA/FMD readiness, and integration governance.

Delegates will benefit from a toolkit for ongoing reference, including:

Financial models

: rNPV valuation, synergy/operating model, PPA/CGU template, and regulatory approvals GanttChecklists: MAH transfer & PV continuity, DSCSA/FMD readiness, ABAC/FCPA diligence, sanctions screening, GDPR/UK GDPR protocols

Clauses library

: Ready-to-adapt SPA/JV covenants for regulatory, PV/quality, sanctions, ABAC, and data protectionPlaybooks: CMA/EUMR/HSR filing guide, NSI/CFIUS templates, ABPI/EFPIA disclosure workflows

Reference compass

: Summaries of Takeover Code, CMA rules, IFRS 3/IAS 36/38, ABPI Code 2024, FCPA Resource Guide, and OECD BEPS updates.

This training course is part of our series of

Corporate Strategy Training Courses

covering the essential skills and best practices for all Company Directors and Company Secretaries, as well as business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Benefits of attending

By attending this training course, you will:

Understand

how to select appropriate deal structures - asset/share deals, carve-outs, licences, JVs - based on risk, regulatory complexity and value creation

Learn

how to map and manage an end-to-end M&A lifecycle, assigning clear accountabilities across strategy, diligence, closing and integration

Build

a pharma-specific valuation and synergy case using rNPV, LOE/8+2+1 modelling, PV/GVP cost drivers, serialisation requirements and tax considerations

Grasp

how to run regulatory, antitrust, FDI, and public-company workstreams aligned with the UK Takeover Code, NSI Act, CMA/EU/US merger control, HSR and CFIUS

Execute

MAH transfers, QPPV/PSMF changes, PV agreements, variations, serialisation readiness, and other sector-specific regulatory transitions

Integrate

compliance frameworks into deal planning, including ABPI/EFPIA, the UK Bribery Act, US FCPA/AKS/Open Payments, sanctions/exports, and data protection rules

Get to grips

with applying relevant financial reporting standards - IFRS 3, IAS 36, IAS 38 - and understand how Pillar Two tax rules affect deal design and post-close performance

Who should attend?

This training course has been designed for senior and mid-level professionals in the pharmaceutical industry involved in deal-making, commercial strategy and regulatory or financial oversight, including:

Business unit managers

Commercial & market access managers

Business development managers

Licensing managers

Regulatory affairs and quality assurance professionals

Pharmacovigilance leaders

Technical operations managers

Finance business partners and directors

Legal & compliance managers involved in deal-making or partnership governance

In-house and private practice lawyers

Board members and directors

Essentially, anyone responsible for designing, negotiating, executing, or integrating pharmaceutical transactions, including M&A, licensing, joint ventures, and strategic collaborations, will benefit from this programme.

This course will cover:

Pillar Two overview and signals for footprint/design