Company:
Biopure's greatest strength lies in its ability to market its blood substitute technology for both animal and human use. Further, Biopure has the patents and FDA approval to forge ahead in the animal market with a two-to-five year time buffer from new competition (using similar technology). One of the company's weaknesses is that it has not received FDA approval on Hemopure, and there are two other companies that could beat Biopure to the market with similar products. But if the FDA does not approve Hemopure, which could have the potential to cripple a single product biopharmaceutical company, the company may still withstand such a disruption with Oxyglobin sales and future research and development. Another weakness is the uncertainty of market acceptance for Hemopure, in the face of a deeply-rooted blood donation network.
Biopure has the potential to lead the market with blood substitutes for human and animal use. With Hemopure on the fringe of FDA approval, one of the largest challenges for Biopure is deciding how Oxyglobin will affect the launch of Hemopure. First, it is important to decide whether the market will accept Hemopure at a price point that is substantially greater than Oxyglobin. This concern is accentuated because the two products are almost identical in physical properties and appearance, and hospitals and insurance firms will require a justification for the price differential.
Second, Biopure colleagues are growing anxious to take the company public in the near future. The desire to go public seems to support the immediate release of Oxyglobin to start paying the costs associated with both Oxyglobin and Hemopure, capture market share in the animal and human use blood substitute markets, and alleviate investor ...