When the product comes back

Many biotech companies give away their babies. Whether because they need cash, or because they need the marketing clout of a bigger company, or to gain the validation on Wall Street that comes with having a pharmaceutical company as a partner, licensing one's early products is a frequent occurrence.

But goodbye isn't always forever. A partner's strategic focus may change, it may not meet its contractual obligations, or it may decide it doesn't like the product. In those situations, the biotech partner may end up reacquiring its product - and wondering how to explain to the world why it knows better than its partner did...