Is Product Infatuation the Death Knell for Platforms?

Executive Summary

Incyte Genomics Inc., the creator of the database model and practically the ur-platform company, has suddenly decided to turn into a drug discovery company--changing top management to do so. Other firms that decided years ago to leverage genetic information to create drugs have far higher valuations than Incyte--indeed biotechs reporting product revenues get valuation multiples on sales that are twice as high as those platform companies command --and about triple the multiples that Big Pharma receives on its sales.