Educating the Next Generation of Biotechnology Managers and Founders

Educating the Next Generation of Biotechnology Managers and Founders
Pittcon
March 1st 2010
Yali 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
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
Prepare 3 questions for each speaker
This is a life skill: You should be able to ask three intelligent questions of everyone you meet
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 companies
Which 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 no
formal 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

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Educating the Next Generation of Biotechnology Managers and Founders

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