The Allure Of High-Hanging Fruit: Why VCs and Biotech Execs See Value In Difficult Drug Targets

In parallel with the new models and altered expectations taking shape in the post-apocalyptic venture capital world, certain platform-based biotechs are reviving the spirit of adventure that flagged in recent years as the economy soured and many investors dived for the cover of non-research, development-only companies (NARDOs). Many of these innovative platform plays were founded in the midst of the financial meltdown, supported by venture capital groups that stayed the course on early-stage companies. ( See Exhibit 1.)

This cohort of biotechs aims to develop platforms that can generate products against difficult targets Big Pharma is no longer equipped to go after but that very well might produce...