BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

Pharma goes a courtin'

October 16, 2006 7:00 AM UTC

Increasing competition for late stage clinical assets is forcing the pharmaceutical industry to reach out to the venture capital community as a source of deals, sending a clear message that the market is open for earlier-stage technology and compounds.

Earlier this month, Astra-Zeneca plc and Pfizer Inc. were the latest pharma giants to try to establish more open communication with VCs by hosting orientation days in London. Each company invited about 60 leading European life science venture and private equity groups to join senior executives in exploring how they might be able to interact symbiotically...