Culture
As a mid-sized company, Forest can ensure direct and deep senior management involvement and
commitment within its collaborations. We select our projects carefully, based on the merits
of each opportunity. Then we dedicate the required resources to ensure success of the project
and the relationship.
We begin with the realization that licensors seek to optimize the value of the collaboration
through an equitable arrangement built on mutual respect. We strive to understand the merits
of the opportunity by listening to the prospective partner’s point of view. We then assess the
information at hand against our knowledge and experience by applying an objective and rigorous
thought process. We maintain close contact and open dialogue with the prospective partner
throughout the process. If we determine an opportunity is of interest, we define the scope and
working framework of the partnership. Every deal structure is customized, flexible, and
scalable—and builds on the strengths and requirements unique to the product and particular
partner.
Throughout each collaboration, we stay in close contact and work closely with our partners at
every level of the organization – from the working teams to senior management. We pride
ourselves on conducting our business with a high level of integrity and pragmatic approach to
decision-making and problem-solving. Our decision-making is streamlined and the process is
transparent to our partners.
Our collaborative approach applies to acquisitions as well. When we purchased Cerexa, an
Oakland, California-based anti-infectives company, for example, we balanced the need to
integrate the organization with the goal of providing it with the independence it deserved.
Cerexa has doubled its staff size since the 2007 acquisition, and together we are advancing
a novel and promising portfolio of new anti-infective products.
We believe our partnership-based business model gives us a competitive edge because we
continuously challenge our own way of thinking by considering alternative points of view.
This ultimately leads to innovative and sound decision-making.