Get a product - get acquired

With the exception of Baxter International Inc.'s purchase of Somatogen Inc. in February, pharmaceutical company acquisitions of product-oriented biotechs this year have been limited mostly to those biotech companies with products on the market. Mylan Laboratories Inc.'s acquisition of Penederm Inc., announced last week, fits into this mold.

DERM (Foster City, Calif.) provides the marketer of oral and transdermal patch-delivered generics not only a topical delivery technology and products in late stage clinical trials but several branded products already on the market...