MILWAUKEE - Competition to license biotech products and technologies remains hot and heavy, with about $3.5 billion worth of deals closing so far this month, according to BioWorld Snapshots.

Last February, at the BioPartnering North America conference, the buzz focused on pharma's efforts to woo biotech partners, often with more than just cold, hard cash. More evidence of the shift in the partnering balance of power could be seen at this week's BIO Mid-America Venture Forum. For the first time, four big pharma firms gave corporate presentations, each hoping to convince the biotech audience of its partnering prowess. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 6, 2007.)

Procter & Gamble Co. explained that while many people associate the company with brand-name products like Pampers and Tide, its health care business generated $9 billion in fiscal year 2007. Those sales can be attributed to "a strong OTC component" consisting of more than 100 brands, and a "dynamic branded component" with more than 40 brands, according to Andreas Grauer, the company's director of new technology development.

P&G attributes its health care success to its understanding of consumers, which it maintains by commissioning 10,000 market research studies each year. In the health care segment, P&G sees consumers becoming smarter and more engaged, receiving information not only from doctors but from web sites, advertisements and other marketing vehicles well within the company's area of expertise.

To stay focused on its strengths in development and marketing, P&G licenses 100 percent of its pharmaceutical pipeline. The company is particularly interested in compounds for musculoskeletal indications, such as osteoporosis and arthritis; gastrointestinal conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia and gastroparesis; and women's health, including urinary incontinence, female sexual dysfunction and endometriosis. Interested biotechs can find contact information at www.pgpharma.com.

While P&G pitched its marketing capabilities, Eli Lilly and Co. emphasized its commitment to innovation. Stephen Wilkie, of the global external research and development group, said the company has a "history of innovation" that includes the first insulin product, the first recombinant DNA product, the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and many other advances. And of its $15.69 billion in sales last year, Lilly funneled about 20 percent back into research and development.

Despite its internal capabilities, Lilly realizes that alliances "are a key" to its future, Wilkie said. The company is looking for first-in-class or best-in-class products for neurology, endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal conditions, as well as other innovative products that might not fit into one of those buckets. And while Lilly is a small-molecule company, it also has "a significant large-molecule presence," Wilkie said.

In addition to drugs, Lilly also is looking for research technologies, from discovery chemistry and in vivo pharmacology to drug delivery systems and drug repositioning. Interested biotechs should go to: www.lilly.com/about/partnering/ alliances/index.html.

Like Eli Lilly, Pfizer Inc. also balances partnering activity with an internally developed pipeline. The company spends about $7.5 billion annually on its research and development efforts, but also considers licensing deals for products in a broad array of indications, including allergy, respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, endocrine, dermatology, gastrointestinal, hepatology, genitourinary, infectious diseases, inflammation, neuroscience, oncology, ophthalmology and pain.

Daniel Getman, vice president of Pfizer global research and development and director of Pfizer's St. Louis Laboratories, said the company has done a lot of partnering in the past, but that Pfizer is "getting ready to take it to a whole new level." He pointed to new initiatives such as Pfizer's incubator in La Jolla, Calif., a translational medicine group, and a new venture capital arm.

The company is interested in diagnostics, biomarkers and enabling technologies as well as small-molecule and biologic therapeutics. For more information, go to: www.pfizer.com/partnering/servlet/index.html.

Abbott focused on its flexibility when working with partners, whether in pharmaceuticals, nutritional products, diagnostics or medical products. Last year, the company's pharma sales topped $12 billion, 80 percent of which can be attributed to partnered or acquired products.

Specific areas of interest for Abbott include pain, neuroscience, immunology, cardiometabolic/cardiorenal, virology and oncology. Kevin Lynch, director of global pharmaceutical licensing and new business development, said Abbott evaluated 1,800 licensing opportunities last year. For compounds of interest, the company is willing to consider alternative deal structures, he said, such as providing Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. with the option to fund 40 percent of the development of its protease inhibitors in exchange for a 40 percent profit split instead of double-digit royalties. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 13, 2006.)

More information on Abbott licensing deals can be obtained by emailing licensing@abbott.com.