LinkedIn Tips For The Biotech Professional

Using Social Networking Sites in Biotechnology Projects Donald Low, PhD

Current Macro Trends
What are the big trends affecting us today?
How might they affect our company? Our project?
Recession
Globalization
Health Care Reform/Change
Internet Web 2.0 high unemployment tight funding downward price pressure development efficiency Social Networking

Happy 40 th Birthday Internet!
1969 – DoD’s ARPANET connects computers at 4 sites
1971 – ARPANET expands to 23 server sites
Early 70’s – advent of email messaging
1981 – ARPANET now has 213 sites
1982 – term “internet” first used
1987 – more than 10,000 internet hosts
1989 – more than 100,000 internet hosts – AOL ISP launched
1992 – more than 1,000,000 internet hosts
1995 – Yahoo! founded
1998 – Google founded
2003 – LinkedIn founded
2004 – Facebook founded
2006 – Twitter launched

The Web 2.0 Revolution
Initially, most web sites had a one-way flow of information
Content was generated by the owner of the domain
Users visit site to access information, then leave
In Web 2.0 sites, information flows in more than one direction
Much or all of the content is user-generated
Users form communities based on common interests
The internet provides a conduit for information flow between network/community members
The power of Web 2.0 sites is dependent on the quality of user contributions

What Are Social Networking Sites?
Any website that organizes content generated by related individuals together into groups
Social networking sites serve to facilitate information transfer between network members
Relatively new innovation in web history
Many/most popular social networking sites have entertainment focus
Network members share photos, status updates, music etc.
Facebook, Flickr, Myspace and others
LinkedIn has professional focus

Leverage 2 nd and 3 rd Degree Connections
All social networks are hierarchical
You  your friends  your friend’s friends  so on
LinkedIn provides an explicit bridge between you and your 2 nd and 3 rd degree connections
Information is readily available on them via searches
LinkedIn provides a convenient means to contact them
Your 2 nd and 3 rd degree connections represent a large body of potential knowledge and resources
Most people typically use for job searching, networking
Can these resources be used for biotech project related work?

DL’s LinkedIn Network Structure

DL’s LinkedIn Network is Distributed Bubble diagram made using ManyEyes visualization tool

Social Networks are Highly Complex
DL’s Facebook account
121 friends
All 1 st degree contacts
Visualization shows complex web of interconnections
Some friends know other friends in other contexts
“ hidden relationships”
Network diagram generated using GUESS

Family & Friends Gryphon Caltech Cycling PDL Ethos Climbing/Yoga Visualization Shows Links Between Groupings

So How Does This Help Us?
Effective project team leaders can find resources that can advance the program, including
Information resources
People with specific expertise
Other companies – potential collaborators/competitors
Assist with clinical trial recruiting and post-launch monitoring
Social networking sites can be used to identify “hidden” individuals who can contribute to a project

The Dunbar Number and Hidden Skills
Sociologists theorize that humans (and primates) naturally organize themselves into groups
The maximum number of individuals in a group where familiarity is maintained is limited
Dunbar predicted the maximum group size where you can “know everyone” is 148
In larger companies, the ability to “know” everyone drops off quickly
There may be employees with specific skills and expertise that you do not know about

Complex Groups, Complex Projects
Biotech companies can be highly complex social groups
Diverse employee training and prior experiences
Many biotech projects are also highly complex
Purely “homegrown” projects are less common
Many projects have multiple technology components that are in-licensed from other companies or accessed via collaboration
Use social networking tools to find people that address both types of complexity

Example: Antibody Drug Conjugates Genentech T-DM1 Trastuzumab, humanized monoclonal antibody Technology licensed from PDL Biopharma DM-1 linker conjugate technology licensed from Immunogen

Interactive Session: Advanced Search
Run search for ex-PDL employees at Genentech – there may be more than you suspect!
Could have expertise relevant to humanization
Run search for ex-employees for Immunogen
Could be valuable as outside consultants or potential employees
Run general search for antibody drug conjugates
Who turns up could be valuable for identifying potential competitors or collaborators

Advanced Search: Ex-PDL People at Genentech

More PDL alumni than I thought

Advanced Search – ex-Immunogen Employees

Advanced Search Results

People Working on ADC’s

Using Dynamic Search Refinements

Advanced Search: Finding Talent Abroad
What if your team needs help in another country where you don’t have a site?
My team once needed a person-in-plant at a facility in Switzerland for an extended period of time
LinkedIn can help identify people you are connected to in specific locations with a desired skill
Interactive session : Searching for peptide chemists in Switzerland who are available as consultants. There may be more than you think!

Advanced Search by Location

What about Small Companies?
Biotech is a highly capital intensive industry
How connected are you to venture capital firms?
Getting an opportunity for a first pitch can be critical
Go with introduction through trusted network instead
Interactive session : Using company search on VC firms
Examples: DL’s connections to Sierra Partners, USVP

Company Search Results

Company Search: USVP

LinkedIn vs. Corporate Intranets
Most medium to large companies have corporate intranets
Limited search options – most common search by name
Turns up phone numbers and location and place in org chart
No content on employee expertise or career history
Future corporate intranets may combine LinkedIn-like content specific to company personnel
Pro: more internal coverage if mandatory
Con: no information on external personnel

Social Networks and Clinical Trials
Human trials are the most costly phase of drug development
Pressure to improve efficiency of clinical trials
Better recruitment
More focused patient populations
Fewer failures = lower clinical costs
Use social networking sites to obtain information to support trial design, recruiting and post market surveillance

Example: www.patientslikeme.com
Populations of patients grouped by disease state post and share information on…
Their condition/disease state
Current, past and future treatments
Side effects
Content comes directly from patients
Not subject to HIPAA regulations
Some users post a surprising amount of data
Need to be aware of selection bias
Data quality issues?
Advice & info available on symptoms, treatment effectiveness, side effects & more

Interactive Session: patientslikeme.com
Home page
Example member profile
Community pages
Treatment data page

PLM MS Community Page

Tysabri Treatment Profile

Tysabri Treatment Assessment

Tysabri Treatment Report

Other Social Networking Sites
Facebook
Designed to share photos, status updates and other entertainment-oriented content with network of friends
Excellent resource for organizing meetings
Can be tough to separate personal and professional content
Twitter
Popular site used as channel to rapidly distribute information
Tweets are microblogs up to 140 characters long
Users can choose to follow specfic people/companies for info
Most large biotechs don’t seem to use Twitter

Final Thoughts
Social networking sites have made it into the mainstream for personal use
The use of social networking sites in the workplace is just beginning but the potential is high
Existing tools like LinkedIn can be useful in supporting project work
Expect growth of social networking applications in the workplace with new applications to maximize team resources
Already significant interest in use of social networks to improve clinical trials & safety monitoring

Remember…
Web 2.0 sites depend on user content – they are useless without it
Update your profile and add as much content as you feel comfortable with. It will help you and others using the site.
Build your network – try to get at least 30 contacts to make effective use of network effects
Try to focus on people you trust
Take advantage of the advanced search function
Keep an open mind and realistic expectations

Suggested Reading & Links
Globalization: The World is Flat , Thomas Friedman
Network Visualization
Web 2.0 Tool, IBM’s ManyEyes, http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/
Web-based constellation network diagrams http://danielmclaren.net/
Recent articles on social media and medicine
“ Can Web 2.0 Reboot Clinical Trials?” Malorye Allison ,Nature Biotechnology 27 , 895-902
“ The Power of Social Networking in Medicine” Catherine A Brownstein, John S Brownstein, David S Williams, Paul Wicks, James A Heywood, Nature Biotechnology 27 , 888-890

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LinkedIn Tips For The Biotech Professional

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