Kos/Biovail: How a Mid-Cap Can Win in Primary Care

In May 2005 Kos Pharmaceuticals took over three of Biovail Corp's hypertension drugs plus most of its associated sales force, paying just 1.4 times 2004 sales-or roughly a fifth of what Biovail had paid for the same products less than five years ago. The deal draws attention to why the two mid-cap companies--similarly sized, and, until recently, with a similar business model--have fared so differently in primary care.