Category Focus Rewards Biopharma Shareholders

For decades, biopharma companies have relentlessly pursued growth, counting on pure scale and M&A cost synergies to create value. This strategy is reaching its limits and becoming counterproductive, according to Bain & Co. analysis. Megamergers that don’t produce category leaders also don’t create portfolios that are likely to deliver attractive shareholder returns over time.

IV1702_EconommicCrisis_1200x675

For years, biopharma industry leaders have wrestled with the limits of scale. Despite the benefits that come with size, companies with revenues of $35 billion or more have significantly underperformed smaller companies with annual revenues of between $5 billion and $35 billion in total shareholder returns (TSR). (See Exhibit 1.) Why do the largest companies struggle to deliver above-average shareholder returns? And more important, what can they do to lift a stubbornly low TSR?

The short answer: avoid complex, wide-ranging portfolios that undermine focus. Large biopharma companies compete in many categories and tend to...

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on In Vivo for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required

More from Business Strategy

Late-Stage GLP-1 Drug Trials Outside The Cardiometabolic Space

 
• By 

A look at Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and other companies' late-stage clinical studies of GLP-1 drugs in indications ranging from neurodegeneration to oncology, and alcoholic liver disease to autoimmune conditions.

Rising Leaders 2025: Metsera’s Whit Bernard’s Musical Path To Biotech Leadership

 
• By 

Metsera CEO Whit Bernard applies an unconventional leadership philosophy to develop next-generation obesity therapeutics, including monthly GLP-1 injections and oral peptides.

AI In Drug Discovery: The Patent Implications

 
• By 

A Q&A with DeAnn Smith, partner and co-chair of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board Proceedings Practice Group at law firm Foley Hoag.

Is Advanced AI Revolutionizing Sales Enablement In Pharma?

 
• By 

Advanced AI is revolutionizing sales enablement by addressing training gaps and performance challenges. Used correctly, it can help to bridge the sales-marketing divide, accelerate ramp-up times and provide managers with data-driven insights.

More from In Vivo

Crisis Or Opportunity? US MFN Policy Could Test Japan’s Appetite For Reforms

 
• By 

While the adoption of most favored nation drug pricing in the US stands to affect Japanese biopharma firms now heavily reliant on this market, it might also present an opportunity for pricing and policy reforms at home.

Rising Leaders 2025: Ovid’s Meg Alexander On Neurology’s Next Frontier

 
• By 

Ovid Therapeutics' president and COO Meg Alexander is leading the company’s strategic pivot toward innovative neurological treatments, potentially creating a new class of medicines for rare neurological disorders.

The Goldilocks Isotope: Perspective Therapeutics’ ‘Just Right’ Alpha Radiotherapeutic

 
• By 

Thijs Spoor's bet on lead-212 is paying off as Perspective Therapeutics advances three clinical programs with promising early efficacy signals and a comprehensive manufacturing strategy.