Uncharted waters

WASHINGTON - The inauguration of George W. Bush at week's end will thrust much of the biotechnology industry into unfamiliar territory: the bulk of today's companies, as well as the technologies they are based on, were created during the Clinton administration, and many biotech leaders have never experienced a political and regulatory environment other than the one created by the political appointees and policies of the Clinton years.

Biotech will find itself facing a Republican White House which takes office committed to pro-life, anti-abortion policies and with a promise to enact a prescription drug benefit for senior citizens. It is also an administration that won an election with heavy financial support from the pharmaceutical industry and has vowed big increases in spending for biomedical research. ...