Best of the Blog: Start-Up May 2008
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
In May, Windhover's editorial staff posted 35 articles to the blog, covering biopharma, device and diagnostics R&D, business development, regulatory and commercial news. Here are a few of our favorite SU oriented blog posts that didn't make it into stories covered elsewhere in this month's magazine: SR One 2.0?, BMS Gets KAI Heart Attack Compound Pumping, and Covidien Takes Small Bites.
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Can Out-Partnering Help Vault Pfizer Over the "Second Cliff"?
The industry's genericization problem will seriously constrain Big Pharma's ability to pay for late-stage development on all its products. One potential solution is being developed by Pfizer, whose top R&D execs see out-partnering as a way to free up resources for key programs and to expand R&D capacity. In this interview with R&D boss Martin Mackay, Mackay reports that Pfizer is building up a war-chest of out-licensing and partnering candidates, pursuing a wide variety of transactions--including project financing, straight out-licensing and spinoffs. But the extent of Pfizer's long-term commitment to out-partnering still isn't clear.
Spun Out, Covidien Rolls On
Covidien, nearly a year removed from spinning out of scandal-plagued parent Tyco International, is pushing forward as an independent company. Covidien execs are investing in new product creation, sales and marketing efforts, and acquisitions. That means Covidien is about to make a big splash in the device industry, with devices bringing in two-thirds of this ambitious company's revenues.
Esperion, Again: Pfizer's First Spin-Out's Familiar Look
This examination of Pfizer's first foray into spin-outs is a sidebar to "Can Out-Partnering Power Pfizer Over the "Second Cliff?"" Pfizer's Esperion spin-out hopes to pick up where it left off five years ago when Pfizer bought its first incarnation: developing HDL-raising therapies for CV disease.