Arbitrage may be the biggest game in biotech.
For $7 million up front and $25 million in milestones, plus the ability to buy a big chunk of stock...
EyeTech: Primary Care Dollars for Specialty Pharma
Pfizer's $295 million deal for EyeTech's product for macular degeneration is one more example of the Big Pharma's evident belief in the increasing value of specialist, as opposed to primary care, markets. For Pfizer, co-promoting the drug with a start-up is less problematic than most such arrangements because of EyeTech's deep connections with thought leaders in the field and Pfizer's own inexperience in it.