Publicly traded U.S. biotechnology companies could reach a significant milestone as early as 2008 by yielding their first net profit for the entire class, the accounting firm Ernst & Young predicted in a new industry report. Taking note of rising revenues and other hopeful signs, Ernst & Young moved up its forecast date for the industry to achieve aggregate profitability, a watershed for a sector where the vast majority of firms lose money. Ernst & Young predicted last year that profitability would come by the end of the decade. But the sunnier forecast assumes that government agencies will refrain from imposing price controls on drugs during a period when consumers are demanding the right to import cheaper drugs from Canada and Congress is facing the cost of a new Medicare prescription drug bill passed last year.
