Fenwick & West life sciences group co-chair Steve Graham, a partner in the corporate group, is quoted in a Daily Journal article on California’s “bustling biotechnology sector.”
Graham attributes rising mergers and acquisitions activity to the pressure companies are facing to find new drugs as they lose patent exclusivity on existing drugs. Once that exclusivity period ends, the drugs will face a “crowded field of competitors," and strategic acquisitions are often more cost-effective than developing a new drug in-house, he says.
“It costs billions to get a product candidate through development. And then, after all that time, there's no assurance you'll actually have a product that's successful in the marketplace," Graham told the Daily Journal. "If you can squeeze out that risk, that means a lot.”