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A Common Pitfall for First-Time Biotech CEOs
You have probably grown up within a particular function, i.e. clinical, medical, research, business, etc. And, all of a sudden, as CEO you’re responsible for all functions! Now here’s the thing… You don’t need to become an expert overnight in all of those other functions where you didn’t grow up. Because first, you can’t, and…
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The Pharmaceutical Industry is an Information Industry
The title above is a quote by the famous management guru Peter Drucker. If this is true, how does someone win in an “information industry”: First of all, what Drucker meant was that the pill you get may cost a few cents to make but its real value is in the years of R&D, the…
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How You Attract the Best Talent Without Trying Too Hard
Here are some wise words from Amgen’s former CEO, Gordon Binder: “When George Rathmann interviewed me for the position of chief financial officer, he made no attempt to sugarcoat the seriousness of Amgen’s looming financial crisis. Nor should he have. The company needed a CFO who would be up to the challenge of obtaining private…
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There’s always someone willing to bet on you.
“The first deal we did was with Merck in 2003. That was a very small starter deal, $7.5 million upfront, driven by Steve Friend who had a real passion for this space and the science. These early deals are often driven by the passion of an R&D leader to do something bold. Steve was the…
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How to Ignore the Noise and Play the Long-Term Game
Luke Timmerman asked Daphne Zohar on his podcast the Long Run: “It’s been 15 years since you started. Now you have a few things to point to but how did you get through those linear times when capital was not abundant and you couldn’t point to products on phase 2/3 that had the scientific community…
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Start With Unreasonable Bets, But Then Be Nimble, and Follow the Data
Noubar Afeyan says, “Scientific innovation is heavily limited by reasonableness. How can you expect extraordinary results from reasonable people doing reasonable things? Everybody’s looking for extraordinary outcomes, but they constantly want to figure out whether every single step is the right, reasonable one. People go ask key opinion leaders, they do what’s called due diligence…
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When Two Passionate Biotech CEOs And Fierce Competitors Come Together Again Fueled By Their Love For Patients
The narrative revolves around John Maraganore and Stanley Crooke, former CEOs of Alnylam and Ionis Pharmaceuticals. JM: “When we were preparing for our IPO in early 2004, we were surprised and puzzled by a claim from Ionis stating that our activities related to an siRNA therapeutic infringed certain Ionis chemistry patents. We were in the…
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9 Takeaways for Biotech CEOs from the Biotech Hangout at the BIO Conference in Boston (June 2023)
1. Remain private or go public? Private means you don’t have a perceived value of your company that’s hanging over your head when you’re negotiating with potential partners, acquirers or investors. Also, when you have some new data you can take your time to understand it before you put it out there. As a public…
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Great Biotech Teams Have Conflict
Exceptional teams have conflict. Because the stakes are high. The people care and are running at full blast. Every conflict is a chance to strengthen and unite the team. Before we dive in… You guys are a bunch of stars who: • are all experts in your fields • speak different languages • work in…
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Why Biotech CEOs Should Be Outspoken On Policy Matters
“If you’re in this industry, you have to be vocal on some of these policy matters. It’s very important that CEOs are willing to speak out. I reject this concept that CEOs should just abide to a Milton Friedman approach and stay silent on any social matter. I think that’s wrong. That’s not how we…