Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI) wants to add a branded drugs focus alongside its generics business and is setting aside $6 billion for acquisitions to do it, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Chief executive officer Paul Bisaro said: “Everything we need to be a branded pharma company we have, except for the sales force. … And we can create that,” according to the article.
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With the market for generic drugs expected to decrease in the coming years, companies like Teva have sought to add branded drugs to create a hybrid business model and give themselves a competitive edge. According to Michael Faerm, an analyst with Credit Suisse cited in the article, branded drugs account for one-third of the Israeli drugmaker’s sales.
Bisaro said the New Jersey-based company would seek to avoid the mistake that other generic manufacturers have made in the past of trying to run their branded business like their generics business. “With brands, you have to pass on those things that, even though you like the idea, if it’s not in your wheelhouse and you don’t have the sales force, you probably ought not to spend the money on it.”
