Pharma's Strategic Divide: Focus or Diversify

It looks like the biggest strategic gulf in the industry: focus or diversify? If the CEO thinks he can't rely on R&D to grow his way out of the industry's revenue hole, get ready to live alongside generics and OTC businesses--though he'll downplay to investors the risks of managing different businesses by stressing the commonalities with the core branded efforts and probably won't move into wholly non-pharma businesses. If he's still committed to R&D--get ready for diversification of other sorts, and some pretty clever financial tactics.

By Roger Longman

It’s the drug industry’s strategic litmus test. Are the best years of pharma growth behind us? Or can the industry...

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