Category: Uncategorized

FINDING USES FOR BIG PHARMA'S ABANDONED DRUG CANDIDATES has become a hot area, and here we have Francis Collins pushing the initiative. Many of these candidates have had toxicological testing in Man, and this significantly de-risks a molecule. Sifting from old gold mines. http://lnkd.in/wriVbj View in LinkedIn

READ THIS GOOD REVIEW OF BIOTECH IPOs SINCE 2000. Liquidity drives VC investments. There are two main liquidity paths: IPOs, and M&A. Without liquidity events, investors cannot get their ROI. Unfortunately the IPO exit has been miserable for biotech, and the slack has not been taken up substantially by acquisitions. " "While these trends tend to be cyclic, the current downturn has a very chilling effect on investments. http://lnkd.in/tvw_Kb View in LinkedIn

LANGUAGE AFFECTS THINKING in numerous ways. Redefining words, as this author persuasively suggests, can profoundly change attitudes. She suggests redefining the word RISK. An excellent start. Another to consider in Europe and Japan is AMBITION, which carries negative baggage in both geographies. A worthy experiment! http://lnkd.in/9gmJZh View in LinkedIn

ANALYSTS HAVE TRADITIONALLY DISLIKED BRAND-GENERIC COMBINATION COMPANIES, but there are many reasons to challenge this prevailing false assumption. Bolting on a revenue stream that is not as difficult to achieve as a new brand drug gives a company operating and R&D revenues. Impax Labs has successfully funded its R&D efforts from sales of generics, and without that capital source would have needed to finance R&D externally. Rethink sustainable business models. http://lnkd.in/D-5Ye6 View in LinkedIn

ANOTHER CROWD-FUNDING MUST-READ. http://lnkd.in/CnZ8Tc View in LinkedIn

THE OBAMA JOBS ACT AND EQUITY CROWD-FUNDING. Read this helpful guide if you are interested in equity crowd-funding. http://lnkd.in/65QVbv View in LinkedIn

WORK SMART FIRST, HARD SECOND. BUT REMEMBER BALANCE. If you get burned out, over-tiered, or even ill, from a fear-driven schedule, step back and stop. In that state you are not useful to anyone. How long is a piece of string? Choose how long you want it to be. This is the hardest lesson of a crazy startup. Learn it or fail. http://lnkd.in/47_WHW View in LinkedIn

THE "ANGEL BUBBLE": MIND THE GAP! The disproportionate level of early stage seed funding versus a flatliner in Series A has lead to a situation that the London Underground has long warned passengers about: Mind The Gap! If remedies are not forthcoming (crowd-funding for Tech companies, tax initiatives, public funds for startups to name a few),these young companies will hit the proverbial air bubble. With all the flurry out there of open innovation, Pharma consortiums, public access drug libraries, and crowd-funding, there are possible confluent paths that can help this issue. http://lnkd.in/UWHaD2 View in LinkedIn

HEURISTIC LEARNING is the difference between going to a chaotic second hand bookstore and browsing, versus doing a keyword search on Amazon. Heuristic learning permits surprises, intuitive guidance, common sense, and experience to be the discovery driver. Since we don't know what we don't know, surprises from the norm of orderly findings can have great value. Try walk arounds without an agenda to stumble on a new finding. View in LinkedIn

EMULATION TRUMPS ENVY. Boston's biotech success has shown the possible. It is a great model for other nascent clusters. Learn from history and avoid repeating old mistakes. http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2013/01/our_biotech_industry_%E2%80%98envy_world%E2%80%99 View in LinkedIn