Big Pharma is Courting in Medicon Valley Big pharma courts Medicon Valley

At a time when stock market turbulence is triggering speculation about recession in the biotech industry, the Medicon Valley biotech companies received in December some important visitors from some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

The turbulence seen on the stock markets over the past months has given rise to speculation that the economic upswing among mature biotech companies is coming to an end. But windows of opportunities are opening as a consequence of the pharmaceutical industry's challenges to fill their pipelines with new drug candidates.

The 'Pharma meets Biotech - Biotech meets Pharma' conference proved that international pharma have a strong belief in Medicon Valley biotech research, underlining that Medicon Valley's biotech companies have the products demanded by the pharmaceutical industry.

World-class research

American-based Merck Sharp & Dohme was one of the pharmaceutical companies on the lookout for new partnerships with Medicon Valley's biotech companies at the conference.

- I am very impressed with the Medicon Valley research. In my experience, there are many interesting businesses located there, and they have much to offer. Therefore, it is of particular importance to me to meet the biotech companies in this region, says Hans Boström, Director, Scientific Liaison of Merck Sharp & Dohme

Co-financing is of utmost importance

When investors start worrying at the prospects of not obtaining a return on their investments, it means that biotech companies may find it more difficult to attract capital. Thus, the incentive among biotech companies to enter into profitable partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry has not waned as a result of the turbulence on the stock markets, and the pharmaceutical industries will in all probability play a more important role in co-financing the biotech companies until the turbulence has subsided.

- People will take their medicine irrespective of the climate. So, even in times of economic recession the pharmaceutical companies will be on the lookout for interesting drug candidates from the biotech companies, says Niels Gerner Larsen, MVA's project manager at the event.

A partnering event such as "Pharma meets Biotech - Biotech meets Pharma" is a good place to start for biotech companies wishing to be well prepared for the time when it will become difficult to raise venture capital.

Read the full article in the MEDICON VALLEY magazine, January 2008

Source: The MEDICON VALLEY magazine, 03.01.2008