Now that it has plenty of extra expertise and manufacturing capacity to make biologic drugs thanks to the addition of Wyeth, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has decided to join the club of drugmakers developing generic versions of biologic drugs, according to Bloomberg.
Welcome to the club. It's getting crowded in here. Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:TEVA), Novartis (NYSE:NVS), Hospira, and a few others have already gained approval in Europe for copycat versions of drugs such as Amgen's (NASDAQ:AMGN) Neupogen and Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) Eprex.
I understand Pfizer's need to move away from a reliance on a single blockbuster like Lipitor; diversified lineups like those of Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Labs have served them well. But investors should realize that the development of biologics is going to take time.
At this point, Pfizer is playing catch-up. Sure, the U.S. doesn't currently have a pathway to approve so-called follow-on biologics, but it most likely will in the not-too-distant future; the health-care reform bill is expected to contain instructions for the Food and Drug Administration to set one up. It'll likely take years to develop the products from scratch, and Pfizer might be best off getting a jump-start by purchasing or licensing follow-on biological drugs already in development -- as Mylan and Merck (NYSE:MRK) have already done.
One potential target could be Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE:RDY). The generic-drug maker boosted its capacity to make biologics a few years ago and already sells generic biologics in its home country of India.
Besides, Pfizer, I hear now's the time to invest in India.
