It's Good to Be CEO

If you are under tremendous pressure to succeed, you might as well also receive tremendous compensation. CEOs at publicly held biotech companies get their share of both, and these leaders' salaries are on the rise. But there are some wrinkles: Overall compensation is being restructured as boards of directors, feeling the heat from big investors such as mutual funds and shareholder groups, struggle to rein in long-term compensation such as stock options in order to reduce stock dilution. The pressure is further exacerbated by recent accounting rule changes on expensing stock options, along with stronger financial reporting requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.