Often, small biotechs rely on partnerships with big pharma to get their drugs developed.
In fighting flu, for instance, Gilead Sciences Inc. teamed up with Roche to develop the flu drug Tamiflu, while small Australian biotech Biota has a sometimes uncomfortable relationship with GlaxoSmithKline to make Relenza.
Biota, which sued Glaxo in 2004 alleging it did not market Relenza hard enough, is seeking partners to develop its new flu drug, laninamivir.
The main weapons against influenza, and most other infectious diseases, are vaccines. Flu is problematic because the vaccine must be changed every year to match the mutation-prone virus.
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