Generics and biosimilars are multi-billion-dollar markets characterized by fierce competition. At the same time, the development of new pharmaceutical products repeatedly requires collaboration between different parties who trust each other only to a limited extent. To facilitate business development in this sensitive area where anonymity and a high need for information coexist, iteratec has developed a virtual partnering platform for bioseet where potential development partners can connect with one another anonymously and in a spirit of trust.
bioseet is a pharmaceutical startup with a vision to revolutionize the partnering process between companies in the context of drug development. With its digital platform for identifying and evaluating development partners and investment opportunities in the fields of innovative medicines, biosimilars, and generics, the company aims to replace traditional partnering conferences and in-person networking. Instead, startups, established manufacturers, and investors can efficiently and effectively search for interesting opportunities via a virtual marketplace.
The advantage: Thanks to a mutual opt-in mechanism in the partnering process, contact is initiated completely anonymously. Only when both parties consent and the relevant NDAs are signed are their identities disclosed.
Founded in 2019, bioseet is one of the largest partnering platforms in the biotech market, with more than 250 active companies on the platform.
As a technology partner from the very beginning, iteratec has helped shape the development of the bioseet platform and laid the technical foundation for its current success through a secure and scalable IT solution. In addition to technical design and technology selection, this encompassed everything from the implementation of a functional MVP to the delivery of hardened software and the entire security architecture. Furthermore, iteratec temporarily provided the CTO to present the technology concept to investors and potential partners.
A central aspect of the platform is the anonymity and confidentiality between the participating parties. To reliably protect intellectual property on the platform and strengthen participating companies’ trust in the platform, iteratec developed a comprehensive security concept based on the CIA2 principle. This concept includes dedicated measures to ensure the confidentiality and availability of the platform, as well as the integrity and authenticity of the data and users (see figure).
The security architecture is designed so that the individual layers of the platform are isolated from one another to ensure multi-tenancy and are protected against unauthorized data leakage through encrypted communication and secure access points. In addition, threat analyses and code reviews were conducted at various stages of the development process to rule out security vulnerabilities. To comply with European and German data protection standards, care was taken during the selection of the cloud infrastructure to ensure that data is hosted exclusively in Germany.
In addition to ensuring confidentiality and anonymity during the initial contact phase, the bioseet platform offers new ways to make the internal evaluation process more effective and efficient compared to traditional partnering conferences. For example, companies can invite various internal experts and stakeholders to their Teamspace to evaluate promising business opportunities as a team and jointly negotiate the terms of potential collaborations.
To this end, iteratec implemented its own user group management system as well as additional features, such as a comment and notification function, which support efficient communication within the team and thus help reduce the time to deal closure.
What impresses me most about working with iteratec is their willingness to take risks to find innovative solutions while keeping feasibility in mind. Competent teams who enjoy their work and have the courage to question things are what make project work with iteratec a success.
The platform has now established itself as a marketplace for innovative medicines, biosimilars, and generics, with a total of more than 500 completed transactions to date. bioseet is thus not only the first virtual partnering platform for these types of pharmaceuticals, but also the leading provider in the field of digital marketplaces for research collaborations, with a market share of around 70%.
iteratec has supported this journey from visionary startup to digital champion over the course of several years. The flexible microservices architecture ensures the continuous expandability of the platform’s functional scope and its sustainable scalability.
