The marathon bull run for biotech’s elite companies has pushed into 2014 and, year to date, BioWorld’s Blue Chip Biotech Index, a price-weighted index that includes 19 of the top biotechnology companies as rated by market cap, is up 17 percent. The index has grown in value an incredible 105 percent since the beginning of 2013, considerably outpacing the general markets with the Dow Jones Industrial average (DJIA) recording a 25 percent increase and the Nasdaq Composite index a 43 percent jump in value in the same period. YTD, the DJIA index has dropped in value 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite index has recorded a 3.5 percent increase. Read More
Rare disease therapies are by their nature expensive. Companies that attach high price tags to their approved medicines argue that they need to recoup their research and development investment costs with an economic model that takes into account the very small patient populations for which their drugs are targeted. The absence of competition within the small market segment also allows the drug developer plenty of room to establish annual treatment costs. However, could a competitive environment affect that model? Read More
It is no secret that pharmaceutical and biotech companies are beginning to invest heavily in the rare disease space. One of the attractions is that orphan drugs, developed for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare disorders, tend to be very expensive, where single patient costs can reach $350,000 and above per year. Read More
