Exelixis: Act III

Exelixis Pharmaceuticals Inc. is one of a handful of companies that has successfully made the transition from a functional genomics company to a fully fledged drug development company. EXEL has metamorphosed in three stages, raising the curtain on Act III this year with the disclosure of its product pipeline. How it got there and how it built a product engine that should provide a continued stream of drug candidates provides a model for companies that wonder if it's still possible to build these kinds of platforms.

There is ongoing debate in the industry over whether it's better for companies to focus on one or two core products, as Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD; Foster City, Calif.) has successfully done in antivirals, or take many shots on goal. EXEL is firmly in the latter camp. ...