How we can drive new cures

In the final session, investors and analysts discussed the biotech market and the outlook for long-term growth.

Biotech’s hot—but the election, coronavirus, and early stages of economic expansion make the long-term outlook more uncertain.

Three views:

1. “We’re always concerned in an election year,” said Mara Goldstein, Managing Director and Biotech Analyst at Mizuho Securities.
2. This year, the “informal pulse” is more optimistic than previous election years, countered Jorge Ramirez, Principal at H.I.G. BioHealth Partners, with bankers, investors, and CEOs thinking it’s a matter of “how they get companies out, not if.”
3. James Cappuccio, Managing Director of Investment Banking at H.C. Wainwright & Co. LLC, said we won’t understand the dynamic until mid-year. “It’s a great environment now,” he said, but with the understanding it’s “a six-month year.”

Science rules. Echoing speakers the previous day, panelists agreed science is driving interest in IPOs, not problems like coronavirus. 

But questions abound. Despite the science and the optimism, there are questions—importantly, about manufacturing feasibility and cost, and the difference between scientific concepts and efficacy.

Read more from this discussion.

One thing’s clear: we must incentivize R&D and investment in new cures. The cures of the future require innovative science, yes, but also an ecosystem that supports investment in the science.

Pfizer Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Pfizer, looks for “good business prospects and good science” to invest in, said Dr. Barbara Dalton, VP of WWBD and Senior Managing Partner of Pfizer Ventures, with 80% of capital going to pharmaceuticals and therapeutics, and 20% to tools, technology, products, and services.

When they exit investments, money is put back into the company for more R&D. 

And Pfizer is dependent on emerging biotechs, with 60% of the pipeline coming from outside.

It’s an ecosystem. “Everyone in the pharma industry is highly dependent on the innovative companies in the biotechnology space,” she said. “You can’t kill the big guys and expect the big guys to thrive; you can’t kill the little guys and expect the big guys to thrive.” 

Above all: “You have to fund the innovation, putting money back into the system to ensure we’re continuing to innovate,” said Dalton.

Some policy can help: Proposals to incentivize adoption of new cures by physicians and patients, combined with fixes to Medicare Part B and Part D, could incentivize development of biosimilars (and as we know, other drugs, too), said Carol Lynch, President of Sandoz US and Head of North America, Sandoz, on the first day of the conference.

But other policy can hurt: “It’s going to be tricky to implement [an international price index] because pricing in different countries is relative to market dynamics in the country.” It’s hard to compare across countries because reimbursement, taxes, and discounts are different across systems, she explained. 

So, what do we do? We’ll re-up what BIO CEO Jim Greenwood said the first day. When it comes to prescription drug policy, there are two “moral principles” to follow. First, no one should ever do without the medicine they need because they cannot afford the out-of-pocket cost. Second, no policy should ever be acceptable to an elected official if it drives money away from innovation in biotech. 

Jim’s Judgment: “If you follow those two principles—and you can—we can take care of patients, we can take care of payors, we can take care of costs, and we can have innovation.”
 

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