Normally a story like this would be greeted with a yawn. However, with Pfizer, they have suffered the double whammy of Lipitor's impending genericization and the failure of torcetrapib. So to make Wall Street happy, they announce their new willingness to be more of a biotech company.
I've never bought into this argument that pharma and biotech - which I define as parenteral peptides and proteins - are so different. Yes we're talking about different ways to manufacture and deliver these drugs. But at the end of the day, it's about having an organization that can develop and commercialize an innovative product.
Lipitor was the fifth statin to market, with a marginally better efficacy profile versus competitors. Yet Lipitor is a $9 billion product. Compare this with Exubera, which is by all accounts a flop. My point here is that if Pfizer gets their hands (likely through major acquisition) on an innovative "biotech" product, they will likely succeed with it. Hence, the last sentence in the quote below is key.
I wouldn't be surprised if there were an army of analysts at Pfizer HQ on 42nd Street analyzing M&A opportunities. Pfizer will acquire the successful developer, then use their proven skills to successfully commercialize any "biotech" product they acquire.
Pfizer's future rests with biotech
Pfizer has already announced a plan to invest $10 million a year for the next five years to help start-up biotechs in San Diego. Expect to see Pfizer snapping up biologics from smaller drug developers and investing more money in biotech companies in the months and years to come.
Comments