Vincent Fernando submits: To me this shows us that biotech isn't just an offshoot of pharma anymore. It is pharma. It's the more sophisticated and effective way for drugs to be developed. Perhaps soon we won't even make the distinction between biotech and old "chemistry-based" pharma. They'll all just be pharma (though the distinction between small innovative companies and large pharma marketing platforms, Big Pharma, will continue to apply). This is because most future discoveries are likely to be biotech-based. This also shows, as the linked article says, that right now "Biotech is good at making drugs and Big Pharma is good at selling them". A recent Reuters article noted that “the world’s six biggest-selling drugs in 2014 will all be biotech products.” Interestingly enough, only one of them is actually owned, at least partially, by a biotech company. Top of the list, based on a report from research firm Evaluate Pharma, is Avastin (bevacizumab), an anti-cancer antibody with projected 2014 sales of $9.23 billion. To be fair, Avastin was developed by, and until recently marketed by, biotech bellwether Genentech. But Genentech was acquired by partner and part-owner Roche (RHHBY.PK) earlier this year. Pegged for second is Abbott’s (ABT) Humira (adalimumab), an anti-inflammatory antibody for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and other indications. The drug was originally developed through a collaboration between BASF and Cambridge Antibody Technology – but Abbott took over BASF’s part of the deal and CAT was acquired by AstraZeneca plc (AZN)..Complete Story »
