New strategies will be necessary for biotechnology companies to thrive in the new era of personalized medicine, but the healthcare system itself will also have to change, according a panel of six biotechnology company representatives who participated in a discussion titled, “Emerging Technologies and the Innovation of Competitive Advantage,” at the 2008 Wharton Health Care Business Conference. John P. McLaughlin, CEO of Anesiva, a San Francisco-based biotech firm focused on pain management drug development, stressed the growing population of senior citizens as a focus of future opportunities in biotechnology. The population of those 65 and over is expected to grow from its current 35 million to 71 million by 2030, McLaughlin said. The age group 85 and over will rise from 4 million to 7 million by 2020. Given these projections, he noted, a significant opportunity exists concerning osteoarthritis.…