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Biopharma M&A Advisor: What Growth-Stage CEOs Should Ask

May 21, 2026

Biopharma M&A Advisor: What Growth-Stage CEOs Should Ask - Katogen biopharma consulting insights
Biopharma M&A Advisor: What Growth-Stage CEOs Should Ask - Katogen biopharma consulting insights

The advisor category is crowded - the operator category is not

Every growth-stage biopharma CEO preparing for a transaction will hear from investment bankers, corporate development consultants, and biopharma M&A advisors of every stripe. The useful filter is not branding - it is whether the lead advisor has owned outcomes on the buy-side, sell-side, and through integration.

Questions to ask before you engage

Track record

  • How many life sciences transactions have you personally led or approved - not only supported?
  • Buy-side and sell-side - which side of the table were you on, and when?
  • Name the integration you would not repeat - what failed and why?

Diligence depth

  • Do you run commercial, regulatory, and manufacturing risk the way a strategic acquirer would - or only financial models?
  • How do you stress-test IRA, patent cliff, and biosimilar timing in the model - not only in a footnote?
  • Who writes the integration plan - the same team that ran diligence?

Economics and alignment

  • Fee structure vs success incentives - are they aligned with closing, or with closing the right deal?
  • Will they tell you to walk away - and have they done it?

Team reality

  • Who does the work at 2 a.m. before the board meeting - the named partner or a generalist staffer?

Red flags

  • Slide templates before they have read your data room
  • Integration planning deferred to “after close”
  • No operator references from CEOs who have fired advisors
  • Valuation anchored to pre-2024 exclusivity assumptions without IRA-adjusted scenarios

For IRA-specific valuation shifts in 2026, see The IRA's real impact on biopharma M&A strategy.

How Katogen approaches M&A advisory

Katogen's M&A, integration and capital raises practice is grounded in 17 completed acquisitions and USD 4B+ raised - from the acquirer, seller, and post-close operator seat. Work includes deal thesis, diligence, board narrative, capital structure, and integration planning that starts before signing.

Prepare before you call an advisor

  1. Know your negotiation eligibility timeline and LOE exposure
  2. Document the top three risks a sophisticated buyer will probe first
  3. Decide your real floor - price, structure, and non-negotiables

Download the M&A readiness checklist on Resources for a structured starting point.

Explore the full biopharma consulting hub or contact Katogen to discuss your transaction.

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If you are navigating a deal, a capital raise, or a growth challenge - let's talk. Engagements are structured as project-based consulting, retained advisory, or fractional executive arrangements. Every engagement starts with a direct conversation with our Founder. No sales team. No junior handoff.

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