Bob,
I think we have some delusions of grandeur here. SEPR is a very long way from being a big pharma. At best we can hope for a bigger and better version of AMGN - in other words a very comfortable and profitable large niche player. We have no idea yet of whether SEPR can build and manage a large sales force and develop their own new drugs. To compare a company with a very limited sales force, a narrow technological focus, and limited manufacturing and regulatory experience to a big pharma is just unrealistic.
In terms of "going it alone" on some drugs I have several concerns. First, it means you have to wait until the patent expires, which cuts down the potential of the near-term pipeline considerably. Secondly, there is the issue of drugs that need to be broadly promoted. To try to market the improved Prozac by themselves, for example, is just crazy. Even a reasonable sized pharma like Searle is not trying to market their cox-2 inhibitor by themselves, and instead allied with PFE. Similarly, Forest Labs allied with WLA to market their new (and excellent) anti-depressant Celexa (citalopram). Finally, if you try to compete with someone like Lilly, it might provoke them into challenging your patent. Personally, I would much prefer them to strike a deal with the original franchise holder (even at a lower cut) than try to compete. Of course this is currently a poker game, and so you certainly have to be prepared to do a deal with someone else to make it clear you have other options.
Peter |
