Pharmaceutical Executive-08-01-2003

When I was a kid, I remember reading magazine articles that set out to determine the worth of the human body-not its personal value, or its ability to produce valuable labor, but just the market value of the chemicals that composed it. The figure I remember hearing was $1.98. Pocket change for the crown of creation.

Table of Contents

Before Botox became a popular beauty treatment, Allergan was just a small ophthalmic business that made prescription eye therapies and contact lens care products.

Innovative products, and the research and development teams that produce them, are pharma's life blood. So it's no surprise that, according to PE's 2003 Top 50 Pharma, the largest 20 pharma companies alone spent $45.5 billion on R&D.

Now that patents on several blockbuster drugs have expired, the industry-feeling the pinch-has focused its attention on intellectual property. Because every additional month of market exclusivity can mean an extra $50 million or more in revenue, pharma companies have gone to great lengths to block the entry of generic competition.