[DBYCZ]

I would imagine the cost of isolating patient zero like this is much lower than letting it spread.

[themodelplumber]

Just say "We're still incubating here but I can pay you in exposure!" on the way in. That should get the message across :-)

[adrianmonk]

And you could mention that you're pretty agile, so if they don't like your terms, you might move fast, break things, and make a disruptive exit that leads to an acquisition they won't like.