Merck's Head-long Leap into Follow-On Biologics

Typically, Big Pharma analyst days aren’t known for being particularly newsy. But that certainly wasn’t the case at Merck & Co. Inc.’s annual event, held December 9 at the firm’s Whitehouse Station, NJ, research location. The company outlined its ambitious and capital-intensive plans for a biosimilars business, including the creation of a new unit, Merck BioVentures (MBV), which aims to launch six or more follow-on biologics between 2012 and 2017. The news shifts the Big Pharma in an entirely new direction, one that pharmaceutical companies—with the exception of Novartis AG’s Sandoz International GMBH division—have largely stayed away from. Indeed, Merck’s outline for its MBV is one of the most explicit statements to date concerning Big Pharma’s potential role in developing follow-on-biologics.

In an interview, Frank Clyburn, senior VP and general manager of the newly created venture, noted the company plans to...