With product pipelines at major pharmaceutical companies under pressure but budgets tight, drug makers are increasingly interested in extending their R&D bandwidth without taking on the risk—and more importantly cost—of additional infrastructure. Virtual R&D—via corporate venturing, business development alliances, project financing, incubators or some combination thereof--is the new reality. (See "New Frontiers in Pharma R&D Investment," IN VIVO , November 2009 Also see "New Frontiers in Pharma R&D Investment" - In Vivo, 1 November, 2009..)
Perhaps no health care company has been more externally focused than Johnson & Johnson, which has been talking up its "open innovation" mantra for the past year. The company...