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AN IMMENSELY WELL DESERVED AWARD FOR BERNARD SIEGEL. Congratulations! http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/print/1266 View in LinkedIn

NICE READ ON ESTIMATING IND COSTS. http://www.pharmadirections.com/_blog/PDI_Blog/post/How_Much_is_Your_IND_Going_to_Cost/ View in LinkedIn

HeLa CELLS ARE QUITE ABERRANT, yet have been an industry Gold Standard for decades. The recent sequencing study has shown numerous genetic abnormalities for this reference cell line. What is the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything? Eventual answer after giant computer considers the question: 42. Oops, wrong question (Hitchhiker's Guide). Reminiscent? http://lnkd.in/7e85mq View in LinkedIn

GENE THERAPY'S FIRST EVER REGULATORY APPROVAL may be a door-opener for investment in this sector. For about 20+ years, proponents have hammered out solutions to delivery problems (accidentally creating DNA vaccines) and making slow but solid progress. Now it appears they are preparing for prime-time. http://lnkd.in/FCHZgc View in LinkedIn

ALZHEIMER'S TRIALS HAVE BEEN A GRAVEYARD OF FAILURES, because the patient pool is either too heterogeneous, or too far gone to rescue, or both, in later stage disease. It appeared self-evident that moving earlier into Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) could at least deal with the far-gone issue. At last FDA has acknowledged the seriousness of the trial problem, and devised more realistic goals for trials. Shame it has taken so long. http://lnkd.in/WEnYkf View in LinkedIn

REID HOFFMAN, LINKEDIN FOUNDER: THOUGHTS ON ENTREPRENEURING. Valuable insights from a phenomenal entrepreneur who has been wildly successful, but also bounced back from an early and tough failure. This is a lesson to us all that failure is not the end of the road, but can be the beginning. Converting failure into shame is one of the dead-end roads. Converting it into a learning experience, however humbling, is a road to a new future adventure. http://lnkd.in/pHZypa View in LinkedIn

A GREAT SUMMARY OF ISSUES IN RARE DISEASE DRUGS. A hot trend, initiated long ago by Genzyme in particular, with a number of players including BioMarin, and today even Big Pharma appears interested in this field. In some cases, the diseases are well defined (leukodystrophies) at a genetic level, so their patient pools are homogeneous; knowing the genetic lesion enables pathway targeting. Increasingly, patient organizations fund clinical trials and bring well characterized patient registries to the table. http://lnkd.in/NYbTxH View in LinkedIn

THIS GUIDE TO EUROPEAN VS's is very helpful, although perhaps rightly does not list many dozens of very small funds and sources that are less well known. http://lnkd.in/BpgYYF View in LinkedIn

"GENETIC CIRCUITS WE CAN JUST POP INTO A CELL AND RUN LIKE AN APP" Direct quote from this article about advances in DNA tinkering. Exciting and a bit breathtaking. GMOs have many potentially great applications, such ad making drugs in plants, better breeds of food crops (notwithstanding Green objections), and many others. But there is a dark side: pathogens, enhanced pathogens. http://lnkd.in/jUtD4u View in LinkedIn

THE BEST PREDICTOR OF FUTURE BEHAVIOR IS PAST BEHAVIOR. I have found this to be true for investing or for hiring (or for relationships). Closely interrogate a candidate's past behaviors. Think about what you might have done under the circumstances. Look for red flags, because if, as Madonna has been known to say, 'if it happens once, it will happen twice'. View in LinkedIn