I have this old tech FM radio in my office and I tried to tune in to that Boston Station, I have to buy a new AM FM Radio, LOL: So Good Read on V word LOL:
The American Heritage dictionary defines "volatile" to mean, "tending to vary often or widely, as in price; inconstant, fickle; ephemeral; fleeting." That today’s capital markets meet this definition is both unsettling and unsurprising; that we have become accustomed to the volatility is a reflection of how rapidly our world is changing and how quickly we as investors are adapting. While every industry struggles to respond to global competition, regulatory and economic uncertainty, and political pressure, none reflects the volatility of today more than biotechnology.
This issue of the Biotechnology Investors’ Forum explores the challenges facing our industry from a number of unique and well-informed perspectives. The authors whose articles appear in this issue have captured the rapidly changing nature of biotechnology and offered their special insights into the forces driving the application of biotechnology to healthcare. It is a complicated and often contradictory picture.
While globalization of the world’s healthcare markets is driving consolidation among pharmaceutical companies, there are more biotechnology companies today than ever before. Although corporate financing "windows" open and close with greater speed and frequency, inspiring speculation that a new wave of consolidation will sweep the biotechnology industry as development-stage companies seek critical mass, the goal of becoming fully-integrated remains irresistible for many companies and the perennial search for capital goes on.
As investors focus on recent shortfalls in production capacity facing some biotech companies, the industry’s manufacturing problems have renewed interest in companies with enabling technologies that may improve both production yield and clinical efficacy of existing products. And though more than 70 companies now market biotech products in the United States, fewer companies are expected to see new product approvals this year compared to 2000.
The view from Europe is equally complex. Although the European Commission recently adopted legislation to accelerate the approval of drugs in the European Union and harmonize the approval process with the United States, investment in European biotech companies is lagging the United States and European investors remain leery of investing in U.S. companies due to continuing regulatory uncertainties at the FDA, which is still without a commissioner.
But these uncertainties and seeming contradictions may actually reflect a larger convergence of interests, and there are many reasons to be optimistic, as this issue of the Biotechnology Investors’ Forum describes. Pharmaceutical companies are pursuing greater numbers of biotechnology collaborations and partnerships, leveraging promising new technology to accelerate drug development. Innovative platform technologies are opening up new avenues of discovery research and information technology is facilitating the application of biotechnology to new medical targets. Novel financing vehicles are enabling companies to raise capital to continue their research efforts, and entrepreneurial spirit, venture capital and technology transfer programs continue to foster the creation of new companies. Indeed, one can argue that prospects for the growth and success of this industry have never been brighter. The challenge is knowing where to invest and how to balance the risks inherent in drug development.
Since there are more opportunities to invest in biotechnology today than ever before, how does one approach biotechnology investing? What are the trends to watch? Where are the most promising new products emerging? When is the right time to invest? The views presented in this issue will help you answer these questions and formulate your own investment approach. If you can cope with the volatility, we think you will agree that the prospects for this industry have never been better.
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ChuckaVolatility |
