Under the leadership of new president David Holveck, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. is aligning its strategy more closely with the needs and wants of J&J's many companies.

Perhaps the loudest message from the biopharmaceutical side of the JP Morgan conference was: "Change the Big Pharma model." The theme was pervasive-in discussions of the most interesting products; among the biotechs; indeed in the Big Pharma presentations themselves.

Does the recent flurry of acquisitions of private biotech companies by pharma companies represent a new and continuing trend? Yes--and a real change in thinking at Big Pharma and among VCs.

Several of the most small molecule-minded of drug firms have recently made significant moves to increase their macromolecule activities. They now face the formidable task of quickly building the specialized capabilities needed to compete with the more well-entrenched large-molecule players. These relative newcomers vary in their levels of commitment and approaches--from those building or acquiring substantial in-house capabilities and looking to develop biomolecules across a wide range of therapeutic areas to others who favor dealmaking to acquire protein drugs.