Join me on Tuesday March 25th at 11am EST for a discussion of global biotechnology.
I will be discussing the Scientific American Worldview project along with Mike May, the project editor, and David Brancaccio, Host of NPR’s Marketplace Morning Report.
RSVP at https://plus.google.com/events/ckr9i12nbkob5ck1m6feci9bep0
2013 and 2014 have been very good for biotechnology public markets. 35 biotechnology companies went public in 2013, and well over a dozen have gone public in the first few months of 2014.
Figure 1: Nasdaq Biotech Index since February 1 2014
With the surge in public launches, one must ask the question: “How long can it last?”
Just a few days ago Barrons’s cautioned about a potential bubble, and as Figure 1 (courtesy of MSN Money) shows, recent drops have effectively wiped out NASDAQ biotechnology industry gains since February 1st of this year.
While this quick rise and fall of value may be sobering, long-term value investors should take some comfort in the bigger picture. The recent IPOs enabled many companies which had been sitting on the sidelines for years to raise public cash and to offer exit opportunities to investors — both of which will support future growth in the sector, and the NASDAQ biotechnology index has generally been on a tear for the past five years (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Nasdaq biotechnology index March 2004 – March 2014
So, the short-term question remains — is this a short-term correction, a closing of the IPO window, or the start of a larger correction?
This is a guest post from Susan K Finston, President of Finston Consulting. Do you have a response to Susan’s post? Respond in the comments section below.
Have you heard the urban legend about Egypt’s compulsory license for Viagra, following declaration of a national emergency for erectile dysfunction? Its a whale of a tale, combining crony capitalism, low-quality generics, and a fun therapeutic category.
Just one problem – it never actually happened.
There was no pharmaceutical compulsory licensing in Egypt – then or now.
In fact, by mid-2002 Egypt had implemented data exclusivity to protect the commercially valuable clinical dossiers lodged by companies with any application for marketing approval. The IP Amendments included a number of lacunae and compulsory licensing provisions that gave industry heartburn, to be sure, but were passed more than 3 years ahead of the deadline.
While Egypt’s early implementation of its data protection obligations suffered from occasional (and not uncommon) backsliding, in this case it turned out the MOH official had spoken out of turn, and was not expressing official Egyptian policy. Following consultations between the Egyptian Ministry of Commerce, the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and the two governments, the Government of Egypt renewed its commitment to provide the required protection for pharmaceutical clinical dossiers.
Recognizing the progress made in Egypt through passage of the IP Amendments in 2002, the PhRMA 2003 “Special 301” submission to the US Trade Representative recommended that Egypt be promoted from the “Special 301” Priority Watch List to the Watch List, and supported continuing U.S. technical assistance to ensure implementation of the patent amendments and full exclusivity for clinical dossiers.
However, the New York Times article spawned an enduring urban legend. The tale of Viagra compulsory licensing has become a world traveler, lately cited in an Indian Op-Ed taking comfort that at least India’s compulsory license issued against Bayer was for Nexavar (cancer therapy) and not for Viagra, like in Egypt. As Mark Twain wrote, “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
About the author:
President of Finston Consulting LLC since 2005, Susan works with innovative biotechnology and other clients ranging from start-up to Fortune-100, providing support for legal, transactional, policy and “doing business” issues. Susan has extensive background and special expertise relating to intellectual property and knowledge-economy issues in advanced developing countries including India and South Asia, Latin America and the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. She also works with governments, and NGOs on capacity building and related educational programs through BayhDole25. Together with biotechnology pioneer Ananda Chakrabarty, she also is co-founder of Amrita Therapeutics Ltd., an emerging biopharmaceutical company based in India with cancer peptide drugs entering in vivo research. Previous experience includes 11 years in the U.S Foreign Service with overseas tours in London, Tel Aviv, and Manila and at the Department of State in Washington DC. For more information on latest presentations and publications please visit finstonconsulting.com.
Susan Finston’s recent post on redefining protein products has raised some debate on the regulatory status of short peptides.
What is your opinion? Should short peptides be regulated as small molecules or as biologics?
The back-issues of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology more than five years old are now free. For complete access, see the archives at http://commercialbiotechnology.com/issue/archive.
The Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, in print since 1994, is the definitive international quarterly publication for bioscience business professionals. The Journal is designed specifically for those professionals who need to enhance their knowledge of biotechnology business strategy and management, improve and advance their product development or want to keep up-to-date with current issues and industry trends. It has been described as a “Harvard Business Review for biotechnology companies.”
Each issue publishes peer-reviewed, authoritative, cutting-edge articles written by the leading practitioners and researchers in the field, addressing topics such as:
At the time of this posting, volume 15 number 1 and older are free. Check them out at http://commercialbiotechnology.com/issue/archive .
This paper is part of the free Open Access archive of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology
ABSTRACT: The commonest interaction of industry with academia is as the passive recipient of intellectual property. A much deeper and productive interaction is possible with the creation of closely knit collaborations. Here the barriers to achieving this and how they may be overcome are explored.
The Journal of Commercial Biotechnology is a unique forum for all those involved in biotechnology commercialization to present, share, and explore new ideas, latest thinking and best practices, making it an indispensable guide for those developing projects and careers within this fast moving field.
Each issue publishes peer-reviewed, authoritative, cutting-edge articles written by the leading practitioners and researchers in the field, addressing topics such as:
For more information, see the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology website
I have posted a series of free biotechnology training videos at BiotechU.com .
The course is derived from my textbook, Building Biotechnology, and covers the following topics:
I invite you to check out this free resource. Customized onsite bootcamps are also available — contact me for more information.
This spring has been a busy one for book launches — I have one final book to announce: The Success Matrix.
The Success Matrix: Winning in Business and in Life takes a slightly different approach than most business books.
A typical business book guides the reader through its prescribed methods and tools, using various real world examples to support its concepts and conclusions. In fact, the central chapters of The Success Matrix do just that. But The Success Matrix is atypical in the opening and closing chapters. In these chapters the author conveys the basic concepts of the book in a format that should be more accessible and recognizable to readers who are themselves executives, managers, entrepreneurs or individual contributors: a fictional account of one executive’s exposure to The Success Matrix, as explained to him by his friend and mentor.
Bracketing deep management insights with a fictional story to illustrate the power of the concepts within, The Success Matrix demonstrates how, by focusing on the balance across three areas — Vision, Process, and Output, you can improve your business performance as well as satisfaction in your world outside of work. It’s a fun, easy read, but with serious impact in your business, your career and your personal life.
See more details, and buy the book at Amazon.com
This paper is part of the free Open Access archive of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology
ABSTRACT: Patent analytical data has proved itself a key enabler in measuring the commercial focus and activity taking place within highly research and development (R&D) intensive industries such as biotechnology. Marks & Clerk has assessed biotechnology patent application and grant records from a range of international patent office and proprietary databases, with a view to gauging the industry's commitment to R&D and the particular areas of biotechnology that are attracting investment...
The Journal of Commercial Biotechnology is a unique forum for all those involved in biotechnology commercialization to present, share, and explore new ideas, latest thinking and best practices, making it an indispensable guide for those developing projects and careers within this fast moving field.
Each issue publishes peer-reviewed, authoritative, cutting-edge articles written by the leading practitioners and researchers in the field, addressing topics such as:
For more information, see the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology website
This paper is part of the free Open Access archive of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology
ABSTRACT: Patent analytical data has proved itself a key enabler in measuring the commercial focus and activity taking place within highly research and development (R&D) intensive industries such as biotechnology. Marks & Clerk has assessed biotechnology patent application and grant records from a range of international patent office and proprietary databases, with a view to gauging the industry's commitment to R&D and the particular areas of biotechnology that are attracting investment...
The Journal of Commercial Biotechnology is a unique forum for all those involved in biotechnology commercialization to present, share, and explore new ideas, latest thinking and best practices, making it an indispensable guide for those developing projects and careers within this fast moving field.
Each issue publishes peer-reviewed, authoritative, cutting-edge articles written by the leading practitioners and researchers in the field, addressing topics such as:
For more information, see the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology website
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