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Nature 449, 274-276 (20 September 2007) | doi:10.1038/449274a; Published online 19 September 2007

Biotechs go generic: The same but different

Heidi Ledford1

  1. Heidi Ledford writes for Nature from Boston.
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As several lucrative protein-based drugs are poised to go off patent, makers of biopharmaceuticals argue that their products are too complex to be reproduced as generics. Heidi Ledford investigates how close 'biosimilar' drugs can get to the original.

In 2006, Craig Wheeler, then president of Chiron BioPharmaceuticals in Emeryville, California, received a call from across the country that would challenge his perspective on the biotechnology industry. Momenta Pharmaceuticals, a small firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was looking for a new chief executive.