Bitter medicine for Big Pharma

In the latter part of the 20th century, the conventional wisdom in the drug industry was simple: bigger is better. But just as the monetary policies of that era are proving to have hidden fault lines, the Big-Big management model is cracking up. Now, the buzz is all about breakup. Niche drugs are in. Innovation depends on agility, not heft. Maybe, some say, Big Pharma should break itself into smaller, better focused pieces.

Deloitte Consulting, for instance, predicts that smaller, highly focused industry players will float like butterflies around bloated pharmas, who'll only feel the sting of blockbusters lost. Unless the behemoths remodel themselves, that is. But, as In Vivo points out, breakup isn't nearly as easy to sell to a high-powered, highly paid CEO. The bigger-is-better theory, after all, led to that high power and high pay. Spin off, shrink down, take a pay cut? Don't think so.

- read the item at In Vivo

Related Articles:
Can Big Pharma effectively develop new drugs?
Is pharma addicted to blockbusters?
Spin-off may signal new era for Big Pharma R&D