The Pharmaceutical Pyramid

At the base are technologies, conceived of more and more often at universities and at young biotechnology companies.  As product development grows and becomes increasingly more expensive, these technologies move to large companies either through licensing or corporate acquisition.  And, as the cost of R&D grows even more, the large companies are forced to merge, leaving only a few organizations at the tip of the pyramid.  Where will Japanese pharma companies fit in this pyramid, in the middle, or at the top?

Have big mergers, creating ever larger pharma companies, delivered on their promises to add value? Or are smaller, more strategic ‘bolt on’ deals, which often result from a biotech/ pharma licensing or research collaboration a better answer? What do early stage biotech companies have to be today and what do they need to accomplish over the next few years to survive?  The 10th Annual Philadelphia-Japan Health Sciences Dialogue will explore these phenomena in depth.