Educating the Next Generation of Biotechnology Managers and Founders

Educating the Next Generation of

Biotechnology Managers and Founders

PittconMarch 1st 2010Yali Friedman, Ph.D. – info@thinkbiotech.-com

Challenges

Traditional biotechnology educational paths are not oriented at developing practitioners• PhD: Academic research

• poor understanding of business• MBA: Management, strategy, finance

• poor understanding of science

The biotechnology industry is dynamic• Can educational programs keep up with

change?• How can graduates stay abreast of new

developments?

Why have PhDs been so successful in biotechnology?

PhD:• Ability to solve hard problems,

independently• Often accompanied by a risk-averse,

reductionist, mindset

There has to be another way…

Can you Cross-Train Students?

Do you really need a PhD to manage a biotechnology company?

MS/MBA Programs• Combine research with business training

“I’m no good at the lab work, why do I have to do it?”• The objective is not to train you as a

scientist, but to provide you, as a future manager, an understanding of science

Asking the right questions

JHU MS/MBA Proseminar course• Train students to think like journalists

1. Prepare a 1 page summary on a recent industry report (newspaper, journal, etc)

• What is the key issue, and why is it important• What has changed• What does it mean

2. Prepare 3 questions for each speaker• This is a life skill: You should be able to ask three

intelligent questions of everyone you meet

3. Group project• Marketing, R&D management, finance, etc.

Working on real problems

KGI Team Masters Project• Final project in second year• Team of students, under faculty supervision,

deliver a solution to a real problem

Company sponsorship is $50,000• Ensures that the problem is real and

important, and that students will be pushed to deliver

NIH FAES Graduate School

Students are mainly NIH post-docs• Intelligent, inquisitive, want to learn business

High-speed, deep, overview of biotechnology industry• Focus on cases, provide textbook for

background reading

Guest lecturers• Introduce a diverse set of local industry

practitioners• Students are independent and inquisitive –

don’t need prodding to ask questions!

Guest lecturers

Focus is on learning about the person, not their job• Large and small biotechnology

companiesWhich environment suits you?

• Mid level executives“I’ve had a different business card every

year”• Service vs. product firms

Unique challenges for each• No scientific background

Career path from Phillip Morris to proactive regulatory consulting

NIH FAES Graduate School

Final Deliverable• Essay on a topic of the student’s choosing

Funding opportunities, build vs. buy decisions, etc.

http://www.biotechblog.com/2009/05/27/biotechnology-management-papers/

Continuing education in biotechnology

The industry is dynamic, but there are noformal training requirements

• Continuing education is a personal responsibility,must be self-directed

Journal of Commercial Biotechnology 14(4), 275-276

Free online: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/jcb/journal/v14/n4/full/jcb200830a.html

More questions than you came in with?

The biotechnology industry is dynamic

Keep Learning!Yali Friedman – info@thinkbiotech.com