Lines blur as Big Pharma crosses borders into biotech

An article by CNNMoney breaks out a well-known theme in biotech: Big Pharma is attracted to the fast-growing field of biologics with its rising revenues and IP protected--still--from generic competition. That won't come as a surprise to anyone who's been following the string of licensing deals and acquisitions in the field. What's more interesting is the list of major new biotech facilities Big Pharma companies are building around the globe. That includes Bristol-Myers Squibb's biotech facility under construction in Massachusetts and Wyeth's $2.4 billion facility in Ireland. The article notes that analysts approve of biotech's protected status under current generic rules, and that even though it is likely that new rules will permit biogenerics, complicated manufacturing requirements for biotech drugs will make the field look much different than the knock-off game for traditional pharma.

- read the trend report from CNNMoney