Year: 2022

A BIOTECH BOOM on the horizon is being predicted by some, in no small part to the giant bet placed on the Human Genome Project which so far has yielded a blistering 60X return to society. There is no doubt that this project has opened doors and is changing medicine. And all over the world there are clever innovators in this space coming up with superb ideas. These entrepreneurs are especially prevalent in Barcelona, where it is ripe for a biotech explosion. One spark. That is all that it will take. http://lnkd.in/zuXz43 View in LinkedIn

MEDICAL EDUCATION is at the pointy end of change in medical practice. The new tools available to medical students grow daily. A sea change is inevitable as we switch from reactive to preventative medicine, and to personalized medicine, thanks entirely to the predictive power of new genetic tests. When I taught Biochemistry and Physiology to med students, Case Studies were considered innovative. Well today, there are quantum leaps forward in opportunities to educate our future docs. http://lnkd.in/PWPWAQ View in LinkedIn

eDESIGN HEALTH is the brainchild of Dr Montse Vendrell in Barcelona and opens its doors in September as the newest medical innovation hothouse for entrepreneurs who want to change medicine. Linked to one of the best hospitals in the city,to world class B-Schools, and to early stage investors, this is quintessential innovation itself. More than an incubator or accelerator, this is a hands-on medically focused enterprise. It even has a full course on thinking. Check it out! http://lnkd.in/PWPWAQ View in LinkedIn

COMPASSIONATE CARE and quackery mixes dangerously with patients with incurable diseases. Chinese publications, an outcry from the professional community, and a few more indicators raise the suspicions, and not for the first time. Years ago, doctors were setting up" "Quacky clinics in Mexico to transplant cells into brains. Consumer beware. http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/05/italian-parliament-orders-clinic.html View in LinkedIn

EXPERIENCE THE UNFAMILIAR from time to time, like the person interviewed in this charming and insightful report. Take time to let new ideas simmer and cook. Without this you will miss a lot. http://lnkd.in/ZAGVHB View in LinkedIn

RARE DISEASE FUND by GSK is a trend we see increasingly today. A decade ago, rare diseases were a very hard sell to VCs or Pharma. With the easier big disease targets solved with drugs like statins, and despite newly invented diseases like ED and RLS, the traditional target pool is diminishing. However, we have not yet seen the rise of Intelligent Drugs: making good drugs perform better by using smart materials that are responsive to the environment. Smart drugs can increase compliance, thus efficacy, and be more patient-centric just as the medical paradigm is changing. Watch this space! http://lnkd.in/3ASxtj View in LinkedIn

LESS DISEASE TARGETS? That is the assumption in traditional Pharma strategy thinking. But reflect on this: firstly, less than 2% of the druggable human genome has been spoken for. Secondly, severe tropical diseases kill tens of millions annually. The first will open due to genetics and already is (ie: genetically tailored cancer meds). The second is about economics. But as climate change drives more diseases like Dengue Fever into places like Texas, this too will change. Tropical diseases are migrating. Increasingly on our doorstep, they will attract Pharma attention. Not just Mr Gates. http://lnkd.in/4kEv6V View in LinkedIn

MYRIAD CASE BACKGROUNDER relating to the recent Supreme Court decision on gene patenting: a valuable read. http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/articles/24396/landmark-case-comes-down View in LinkedIn

THE DEEP WEB is another world with anonymity and a criminal element: as if the existing web gave us limited information (not my experience), and how much information can we cope with (Big Data)? http://lnkd.in/m-W7RG View in LinkedIn

NEW CONDUCTIVE MATERIALS make for electronics as wearable devices, no longer silicon-trapped. Clothes with embedded devices, phones, heart monitors, GPS, the list of the possible is infinite. Boundaries until recently limited by silicon-based electronics are being shattered. Smart walls, responsive buildings, it is open season for anybody with an imagination and curiosity. Imagine the possibilities and start your new company around one of them! http://lnkd.in/WUyrQU View in LinkedIn