🧬 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

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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

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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 gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.