Wyeth seeks sales boost from biotech

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. drug maker Wyeth (WYE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) expects biotech drugs to account for between 30 and 40 percent of its sales within five to 10 years, up from 25 percent at present, its head of research and development said on Tuesday.

Wyeth is already well known for its antibody-based rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enbrel and Prevnar, a vaccine to prevent pneumococcal infections, but Robert Ruffolo said many more biological medicines were coming down the pipeline.

"We have about 20 biotech products in development, which is about a third of the pipeline," he told the Reuters Biotechnology Summit in London.

"Approximately 25 percent of our revenues are derived from biotechnology products -- they are critical to us at Wyeth now and increasingly so in the future. We see that growing to over 30 percent, perhaps closer to 40 percent," in five to 10 years, he said.

Biotech drugs can a provide a more stable revenue base than conventional chemical medicines, since they are complex to manufacture, which limits competition.

Ruffolo said Wyeth was also interested in the obesity market once again, as it starts to put past diet-drug litigation behind it, and the company was pursuing a number of options in early-stage development.

"When I joined Wyeth a little over five years ago there was concern about ever doing anything again in obesity. But I think we are beyond that," he said.

"While diet-drug (litigation) is largely behind us, obesity is not -- it is a huge problem in the United States and a growing problem in Europe."  Continued...