Additional on-line material: Pharmacoeconomics and the growth of the biotechnology industry

Abstract

Assuming a constant stream of new biotechnology products in the future, three key issues are likely to influence the growth of the biotechnology industry in an increasingly competitive healthcare market: (a) biotechnology products are more expensive than comparable traditional pharmaceuticals; (b) many biotechnology products target small patient populations for which they may provide the only therapy that substantially improves their condition; (c) the physiological and pathophysiological effects of some biotechnology products are not completely understood, which may require additional resources to characterise and manage patient risks. We show how these issues can be addressed with the help of pharmacoeconomic tools and how they will probably affect the growth of the biotechnology industry.