Global reinvention

Biovitrum AB has reinvented itself twice since it was formed in 2001. Last week's deal with Amgen Inc. is directly in line with its latest incarnation as a specialty care-focused biotech that is looking to go global, while also making up for revenues that will be lost as partner Wyeth switches Factor VIII products that Biovitrum manufactures and co-promotes in the Nordic region.

When it was spun out of Pharmacia Corp. in 2001, Biovitrum had 900 employees - including more than 400 scientists - a revenue base from process development and manufacturing services, and what looked to be a robust pipeline focused on metabolic diseases. But its first three clinical compounds were terminated in 2003 and 2004, leaving it as a preclinical company(see BioCentury, Nov. 15, 2004, & March 28, 2005). ...