Merck & Co. Inc.’s Kim Folander believes collaboration between big pharma and academic or institutional researchers may take on an increasingly important role in pipeline expansion as the competition for later-stage in-licensing assets grows stronger.
“From the larger industry perspective, it’s harder and harder to find late-stage therapeutics of any kind,” Folander, Merck’s executive director of licensing and enabling technology, said in an interview. “They are pretty well known, few in number and they’re pretty closely watched. For that reason, we’re always moving earlier and earlier in the development stage
