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Growing Biz DevelopmentLicensing and acquisition (L&A) has become an essential capability in major pharmaceutical companies. Since 2003, externally sourced compounds have accounted for a majority of the product launches for new molecular entities, and the trend is likely to continue. Not surprisingly, competition over the limited set of available L&A opportunities now represents a major front in the broader competitive struggle among these companies.
In this environment, it is remarkable that business development (BD) -- the discipline responsible for leading L&A activities -- has remained something of a cottage industry. Only recently have companies begun making the kind of focused investments in BD capabilities that are necessary to achieve and sustain leadership in this critical area. To some extent, this state of affairs reflects the inherent challenges of BD, which is highly complex, highly uncertain, and subject to many factors outside the company’s control. However, it also reflects the limited attention most companies have paid to thinking systematically about the discipline and what it takes to be successful.
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