Mediation as a Dispute Resolution Mechanism in High Tech Industry Collaborations: A Look at Pharma and Biotech

Abstract

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the pharmaceuticals and biotech industries should be looked at - as much as a means for saving on legal cost and managing litigation risk - as a tool to preserve or increase value. The argument could likely be made also for many other high tech industries, especially if they involve long development and product life cycles and high risk and expense in product development. Given the author’s long experience from the pharmaceutical industry, this article deals with pharma and biotech and how ADR, and mediation in particular, can be harnessed to satisfy business and management objectives and to maximize value from commercial collaborations.