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These are companies that predominantly invested in small molecule research and did not previously consider biologics as key to their strategies. Large pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline have not historically embraced the biologic wave. Many midsized innovative companies also fall under this category since they have specific disease area focus, often in therapy areas with little biologic use. Biologic therapies are becoming relevant in a greater number of disease areas. These companies will be looking to extend disease area leadership by following opportunities for investment in biologic products and biotech capabilities. For example, AstraZeneca, one of the leading companies in the respiratory space with its small molecule, Symbicort^® franchise, is now poised to enter the respiratory biologics space with benralizumab.

The challenge for these incoming biologic players will be to secure deals for the most promising pipeline candidates. They will be competing with other big pharma for increasingly sought after and expensive assets, with disadvantages in areas such as experience, biologics manufacturing infrastructure, and capital in the case of midsized companies. However, these midsized companies do have a greater capability for focus, particularly in niche therapeutic areas and technologies.¹²