Biotech Blog

With two life science IPOs earlier this month, and seemingly fewer stories of biotechnology firm liquidations, it seems that the tides are turning — ever so slightly — in the favor of biotechnology.

These papers are from the 2009 final projects in the NIH Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences TECH 366 — Biotechnology Management. The students were asked to tell a story based on the course lectures, and to expand with general lessons biotechnology company management:
Financial opportunities for early stage biotech companies
Tamara Jones
The changing roles of [...]

A recent UMD study has found that VCs pay little attention ot the content of business plans.This is not much of a surprise. I’m generally bearish on business plans, but I do recognize their important role.
Having written several business plans and having successfully competed in business plan competitions, I’ve recognized that many of the highly [...]

For all the talk of the numerous biotechnology companies with mere months of cash left and the predictions of looming liquidations, mergers, and acquisitions, it is important to note that a measure of destruction can benefit industry progress.
Economy Joseph Schumpeter coined a term for industrial progress through destruction: creative destruction. In this process, growth occurs [...]

I’ll be giving a talk at the Kogod School of Business on Tuesday February 24th on “Drug Development – Balancing National and Commercial Needs”. The basis of the talk is that countries need access to medicines, foreign currency, and tax revenues, while drug developers need profits (or else they will cease to exist). I’ll be [...]

I will be opening the Business Matters for Scientists program at Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business on March 6th 2009. My focus will be providing an extensive overview of the biotechnology industry and insights on paths to entrepreneurship and business planning considerations. In addition to laying out the fundamentals for success, I will also [...]

After months of effort, I’m pleased to announce the launch of Biotech-U, a biotechnology education resource featuring web-based lessons on biotechnology business, law, IP, politics, regulations, and science.
Biotech-U is based on Building Biotechnology, the leading text used in business-of-biotechnology courses. The online-learning structure is designed to meet the needs of busy professionals who seek a [...]

Last week I sent an update to my list of biotech educators about the availability of instructor resources for Building Biotechnology. I’m starting to see interest among educators who I didn’t email, so I ‘m posting a follow-up here to spread the word.
The instructor resources are free for qualified educators and include figures and tables [...]