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URGENT-Watson CEO seeks deals in generic biotech

Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:58pm EST

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NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc (WPI.N) trails some rivals in its capabilities for selling generic versions of pricey biotech drugs, but the company is on the prowl for deals and wants to be a major player in the area, Watson's chief executive said on Wednesday.

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Companies are preparing to take advantage of a U.S. regulatory pathway for approving such generic biologics, and legislation creating the pathway could come this year.

"We believe, along with many of our colleagues in the generic industry, that the generic biologics legislation is inevitable," Watson CEO Paul Bisaro said in an interview. "So we are actively looking at opportunities."

"I think we want to be in the first wave," Bisaro said. "To get there, we're going to have to do a little bit of catching up but not that much."

Bisaro also said the company was looking at deals for brand-name products and for expanding internationally. (Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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