BioPartners' Biogeneric Alternative
Executive Summary
Uncertainties surrounding the ill-defined notion of biogenerics prompted Switzerland's BioPartners to focus instead on developing improved, patent-protected formulations of biologicals, supported by full Phase III trials. The firm's financial backing, small size, and freedom from the low-cost philosophy hampering traditional generics players have worked in its favor--most recently, helping it win rights to a new formulation of interferon beta.
You may also be interested in...
Biogenerics Firms: Where Part of Bigger May be Better
The biogenerics industry is experiencing a painful adolescence. After taking off on the back of the biotech boom during the late 90s, it has since come down with a thud as costs and timelines rise beyond most firms' forecasts. Unlike the rest of the biotech sector, biogenerics firms can't yet point to a successful precedent, and regulatory and clinical risks remain considerable. So while the entrepreneurship and flexibility associated with traditional biotech can favor small, standalone firms, the opposite is true in biogenerics. Most of the (likely few) winners in this game will be those quietly developing biosimilar products within divisions of traditional generics players.
Biogenerics: Threat or Opportunity?
The EMEA's recommended approval of Novartis' generic growth hormone Omnitrop may pave the way for further biogeneric approvals in Europe. But high entry costs and questionable demand mean straight copies of biologics may not prove the most threatening to branded players/the most valuable market. The real battle will likely be around improved biologics: longer-lasting, safer and more efficacious versions. This widens the playing field, but places branded players with the advantage-for now.
Lonza Biologics: Responding to Changing Needs
Biologics contract manufacturing is changing rapidly. To maintain its leading position, Lonza Biologics is adopting a more flexible and responsive approach in its dealmaking.