Boston Business Journal

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The biotech sector is falling behind other industries when it comes to gathering intelligence on rivals, according to a new report.

Fuld & Co., which specializes in competitive intelligence, examined 500 companies to assess the extent to which they engaged in the practice this year compared to last year.

Technology firms took first place this year, as they did last year. But telecommunications firms slipped past biotech to take second place. Both were in the top three last year, too.

Biotech companies are increasingly using competitive intelligence to make cases for their products to big pharmaceutical firms, according to Fuld & Co. Fuld added in a news release that biotech firms have increased competitive intelligence spending by an average of 15 percent annually over the last 10 years.