These 2 Pharmas Have Made Their Pipelines a Competitive Advantage

To get the maximum return from approved drugs, many pharma companies don't stop developing their pipeline projects once they hit the market. Instead, they test their approved drugs for efficacy in treating other diseases and seek new indications to increase the size of their eligible patient populations. Similarly, some manufacturers experiment with bundling older approved drugs into new combinations to improve their efficacy, in an attempt to revitalize segments with ebbing revenue. 

In particular, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) are especially skilled at using their older products to generate fresh revenue, which is a major competitive advantage. By squeezing every dollar out of their approved medicines, these two companies safeguard themselves against unforeseen delays with their early stage development of new unproven medicines. Let's take a look at how pipeline reinvestment works, and why it matters to investors.

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Source Fool.com