Wasting cash—the decline of the British biotech sector.

The article assesses the decline of the biotechnology industry in Great Britain. The authors assert that this decline can be attributed to a combination of severe undercapitalization of British companies, overgenerous remuneration to board members and absence of share- or performance-related reward for top executives. Compared to its American counterpart, the British biotechnology industry has no world-class companies in the mold of Amgen, Genentech or Genzyme. British companies also failed to invest their limited resources in product development and innovative therapeutics.