The emerging market dynamics of targeted therapeutics.

Targeted biotech drugs that attack specific biological molecules that cause disease are bringing new benefits even as they foment pricing dynamics that are very different from those of traditional drugs. Targeted drugs tend not to compete with each other even when treating closely related diseases, which makes them resistant to price controls. We can expect the supply of expensive new so-called biotech drugs to continue. But the same properties that generate premium prices also facilitate inventing around successful drugs, eventually leading to vigorous competition despite the lack of generic alternatives.