Leave it to conventional wisdom and pharmaceutical companies would continue to buy biotech companies as they search for much needed growth. But as biotechnology companies go after more mass market diseases would they in-turn buy their pharmaceutical brethren?

While nobody is saying it will happen tomorrow, analysts said biotech companies, usually the prey, could eventually become the predator.

“Pharmaceutical companies are becoming like biotech companies and biotech companies are becoming like pharmaceutical companies,” said Geoff Porges, a biotech analyst at Sanford Bernstein. “It’s much harder to distinguish what a biotech and pharmaceutical company is.”

Rewind a couple of decades and there was a clear distinction between biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Biotechs, back then, were considered unproven companies that were going after niche diseases and that didn’t have the potential to churn out a blockbuster drug. Meanwhile pharmaceutical companies were the ones developing the drugs for the big diseases like high cholesterol and arthritis. The success of companies like Amgen (AMGN) and Genentech (DNA), however, demonstrated the importance of biotech discoveries.

Because biotech companies focus on niche drugs, they typically have smaller sales forces and marketing might. While growth has been strong for the industry, there are  signs biotech companies could be setting their sights on more mass market diseases. With a push into mass market drugs comes the need for legions of sales people to knock on doctors’ doors and sell the drugs. Unlike drugs for niche diseases that basically sell themselves, there’s a lot of competition for mass market disease drugs. That, said analysts, could prompt partnerships or M&A.

“The question is do they need the support of large pharma or not,” said Shiv Kapoor, a biotech analyst who has worked for Citigroup, Montgomery & Co. and Ferris, Baker, Watts. Companies like Amgen that are large enough can do it on their own, but may benefit from partnering or buying a company to do the selling.

According to Kapoor, Amgen is expected to report phase III trial results for denosumab, its osteoporosis drug, in the third quarter, and the chances are high the drug will get approval if trial results are positive. Amgen, he noted, hasn’t said if it will partner to go after the larger osteoporosis market. Mary Klem, a spokeswoman at Amgen said the company hasn’t announced its marketing strategy for denosumab as its still focused on getting through clinical trials.

According to Porges of Sanford Bernstein, Genentech said at a recent analyst meeting it was interested in neurological diseases, which he said could include mass market diseases. A spokeswoman at Genentech said the company is not focused on neurological drugs for the masses but areas where there are unmet medical needs like in Alhemizers. Genentech is not “getting into me-too drugs,” said the spokeswoman.

“Gilead’s got a pipeline drug for hypertension and I doubt they will market it themselves,” added Kapoor. They will either do M&A or partnership “depending on the deal and deal terms.” A Gilead Sciences (GILD) spokesman said the company is currently focused on trials for its resistant hypertension drug called darusentan. The company declined to comment on whether it has a strategy focused on mass market diseases. 

In the case of mid-sized biotech companies like ImClone (IMCL), Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) and Myriad Genetics (MYGN), biotech analyst Kapoor said they don’t have the resources to create large sales forces, which makes the question of partnering or deal making more pronounced if they are targeting mass markets.

“Pharmaceutical companies have a major asset that biotechs don’t have, which is expertise in sales and marketing,” said Sanford’s Porges. “How valuable is that versus the R&D engine and/or new technology is the question.”

While M&A could happen, the current valuation of large biotech stocks may act as a road block, at least in the near term. Some industry watchers argue that biotech companies won’t need to go after mass market diseases for years because there’s enough growth with their existing drugs that can be used for other indications.

“The valuation of large biotech stocks are at historical lows,” said Kapoor. “If I was managing a large biotech I wouldn’t try to buy companies because I don’t have the stock cache.”