🧬 Doug Drysdale - Cybin - Part 3 | Jumping from BD to M&A | Leveraging Debt for Strategic Acquisitions | The Importance of Cultural Fit in Successful Deals | Making an Impact at Norwich, Alvogen, & Pernix Therapeutics

The Biotech Startups Podcast

As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.
Part 3 of 4.

My guest for this week’s episode is Doug Drysdale, CEO at Cybin. Cybin is a clinical-stage biopharma company on a mission to create safe and effective psychedelic-based therapeutics.

Doug is an experienced investor, Corporate Director and CEO, who has chaired the Board of a NASDAQ-listed company and, as a CEO for the past 12 years, has built and turned around 3 pharma companies. During his 30+ years of experience in the healthcare sector, he has formed cohesive management teams, recruited board members, completed 16 corporate acquisitions across three continents and has raised and invested around $4 billion of both public and private capital.

Before Cybin, Doug was Commercial Products Manager at DuPont Merck, Director of BD at Elan, VP of M&A at Actavis Group, CEO of Norwich Pharmaceuticals and Alvogen, CEO of Pernix Therapeutics, and CEO of Tedor Pharma. His extensive background as a seasoned executive, investor, and turn-around specialist gives him a wide range of experiences that founders can learn from.

Join us this week and hear about:

• Doug’s transition from BD to leading M&A at Actavis
• His insights on leveraging debt for acquisitions
• The importance of cultural fit in successful deals
• Doug’s strategic acquisitions at Actavis and the turnaround at Norwich Pharmaceuticals & Alvogen
• His challenges and successes at Pernix Therapeutics, the first public company Doug worked for

Please enjoy my conversation with Doug Drysdale.

Timestamps:

00:28 Intro

01:48 How to get into M&A as a scientist; what makes a successful M&A transaction?

05:19 Doug’s experience raising credit facilities to support M&A activity

07:46 Memorable challenges and triumphs at Actavis

12:24 How do you find good investment opportunities? Things to keep an eye out for

14:36 Doug’s move from Actavis to Norwich Pharmaceuticals and Alvogen

18:10 Growth strategies at Norwich/Alvogen: M&A and Licensing

19:14 Key lessons and takeaways from Doug’s time at Norwich/Alvogen; the importance of people and cultural fits

24:33 Turning things around with Pernix Therapeutics, a public company

26:50 Outro

Find Our Guest, Doug Drysdale, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougdrysdale/

https://cybin.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

Social & Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr

Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:

Actavis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actavis

Norwich Pharmaceuticals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich_Pharma_Services

Alvogen: https://www.alvogen.com/

Debt Financing: https://www.excedr.com/blog/lease-financing-vs-debt-financing

Credit Facility: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/creditfacility.asp

Credit facilities for M&A activity: https://cpcp.ca/opinion/6-common-debt-financing-options-in-ma/

R&D Licensing: https://www.excedr.com/blog/life-sciences-licensing-agreements-guide

M&A Activity in Life Sciences: https://www.techtarget.com/pharmalifesciences/answer/Understanding-the-Value-of-Mergers-and-Acquisitions-in-Life-Sciences

IP Assets in Life Sciences: https://www.excedr.com/resources/intellectual-property-rights-for-biotechs

Sales and Marketing Strategies for Startups: https://www.excedr.com/blog/marketing-sales-strategies-for-biotechs

The Biotech Startups Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so