But the market is huge."Big pharmaceutical companies have been aggressively buying biotechnology companies and licensing their products as a way to bulk-up traditional drug pipelines. An added attraction to biotech is that pharmaceutical market dynamics, where blockbuster drugs are undercut by cheap knock-offs when they lose patent protection, do not apply. So producers of branded biologics, such as US drugs giant Pfizer and rival Amgen, argue that generic copies should be subjected to a battery of clinical testing to prove safety and efficacy. Those now being contested include interferon alpha, used to treat certain cancers, and human growth hormone for people with growth deficiencies.Due to their complexity, biologics cannot be exactly replicated in the same way as traditional, small-molecule medicines. They are also some of the world's most expensive drugs, with some costing health authorities more than £50,000 per patient per year. This is a big stumbling block for regulators."The scene we have now is that the [pharmaceutical] companies want to hang on to what they've got," said Mike Ward, an analyst at Nomura Code Securities. "There are no set guidelines on either side of the Atlantic as to how you get these generics to the market.
"There's a great future in private medicine and, because of that, Harley Street has a great future if it's managed in the right way.". The pharmaceutical industry is facing a fresh financial threat as political pressure for the large-scale production of generic biotechnology drugs grows. The market for biotech drugs, which are different from conventional drugs, is currently thought to be worth around $60bn (£32bn). But US politicians Henry Waxman, Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Hillary Clinton have introduced the "Access to Life-Saving Medicines Act", which seeks to set a clear regulatory pathway to copy some of the industry's most valuable biotech drugs. Adding to the pressure is the World Health Organisation.
It is meeting next month to tackle the prickly issue of whether generic biotech drugs that are not exact replicates of the branded drugs can still carry the same clinical name. However, he added: "When it is built, it is going to be an amazing facility."Between 1910 and 1930, a number of the area's Georgian buildings were sold off on long leases, many of which went to landlords who failed to keep the properties in good condition. But in recent years the estate has been buying back leases across the area, which boasts 1,500 doctors and dentists."Harley Street has such a great brand name and has held on to that despite the lack of strategy and poor condition," said Mr Bayham. The Cancer Centre will then be linked to the London Clinic by two underground tunnels.Simon Bayham, the estate's managing director, said there had been a "long, long planning consultation" but was hopeful that final approval would be given as early as this week.The building project is predicted to last three years, though Mr Bayham said he thought that was "optimistic", pointing out that if new medical equipment came on to the market during that time, the plans might have to be redrawn.
