Pharma Seeks a Drug Discovery Fix

allows you to see your idea translated from innovation into the clinic," said Coyle.

Other models of collaboration are also being discussed. Janssen Research and Development, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, recently partnered with the Boston-area venture capital group Polaris in search of early-stage biotech companies.

"We are concerned about the pool of available products and companies that will help our future growth and our patients," said Michael Elliott, entrepreneur in residence at Janssen Pharmaceuticals. "There is always pressure to fill the pipeline." But new drug targets are hard to find, and given the tenuous nature of the biotech industry, "we are concerned whether those assets will be there in the future," Elliott said.

Other pharmaceutical companies, including Merck and Sanofi, have also partnered with venture capitalists, looking for better access to early-stage research. It may be years before the results of the partnership experiments are revealed. But given pharma's problems with innovation, will the leviathan companies squash the entrepreneurial spirit they seek?

That is a potential danger, agree biotech leaders like Sean McCarthy, CEO of CytomX, a startup developing antibody therapeutics. "There is a risk that when pharma comes in, it has the potential to stunt the very innovation they need," he said.

BIO International Convention, drug discovery

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