Improving on a blockbuster

In the search for sustainable business models, many biotech companies can expect to find themselves butting up against rival technologies in therapeutically similar markets. In these instances, finding clinical advantage in a subset of the target market may be critical.

On the other hand, finding defensible ways to add value in terms of price or an improved clinical profile could be the route to a defensible position in the broader market. Two recent taxol deals reflect this approach in the face of the seemingly dominant position in the cancer-fighting drug held by Bristol-Myers Squibb...