Wyeth, Proteins, and The New Book "Science Business"

I said before about the book Science Business skepticism of biotechnology I was " curious to see how he draws the line between pharma and biotech considering the way in which big pharma often "picks the winners" through licensing and acquisitions. That blurred line also affects what you're actually looking at when you consider the performance of biotech "in aggregate." " Again I have not read the book. However...

This article exemplifies my would be point well:

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Listed as the Best 10 Pipeline for the Third Consecutive Year by R&D Directions Magazine
Monday January 29, 11:50 am ET

Wyeth Named the Best Central Nervous System Pipeline MADISON, N.J., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, (NYSE: WYE - News), announced today that the January issue of R&D Directions magazine has selected Wyeth as The Best Central Nervous System (CNS) Pipeline as part of the magazine's annual "Top 10 Pipeline Report."

Currently, Wyeth has 19 compounds in their CNS drug pipeline under development as potential treatments for patients with neurological conditions including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, Alzheimer's disease, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia and acute stroke.

Wyeth is the only major pharmaceutical company exploring three technical platforms for Alzheimer's disease therapeutics: small molecules, biotechnology proteins and vaccines. As part of its "War on Alzheimer's Disease," Wyeth has 11 compounds in development including beta-amyloid inhibitors (in partnership with Elan Pharmaceuticals), gamma secretase inhibitors, plasminogen activator inhibitors and cognitive enhancers. Alzheimer's Disease is a devastating neurological disorder that is expected to affect more than 80 million people worldwide by 2040.

More here:

Meanwhile, another factor driving startups is the need for new companies in emerging areas such as energy, telecommunications and life sciences, which is a combination of medical devices and biotechnology.

“The big trend was the leap in life sciences” VC money, up 20% to $7.2 billion last year, from $6 billion in 2005, Mr. Lefteroff said.

The driver behind this trend is huge pharmaceutical companies that are looking to grow as they face patent protection loss on their most lucrative products.

Okay, that's all 'til I read the book.

Well maybe one more:

“There is much more to come from Wyeth R&D,” Mr. Poussot said.

Sales of biotechnology drugs, which include Prevnar and Enbrel, rose 23 per cent for the year, and now account for almost 35 per cent of pharmaceutical revenue, he said.