Preserving the Promise: Improving the Culture of Biotech Investment critically examines why most biotech startups fail, as they emerge from universities into an ecosystem that inhibits rather than encourages innovation. This "Valley of Death" squanders our public investments in medical research and with them, the promise of longer and healthier lives.
The authors explicate the Translation Gap faced by early stage biotech companies, the result of problematic technology transfer and investment practices, and provide specific prescriptions for improving translation of important discoveries into safe and effective therapies.
In Preserving the Promise, Dessain and Fishman build on their collective experience as company founders, healthcare investor (Fishman) and physician/scientist (Dessain). The book offers a forward-looking, critical analysis of "conventional wisdom" that encumbers commercialization practices. It exposes the self-defeating habits of drug development in the Valley of Death, that waste money and extinguish innovative technologies through distorted financial incentives.
1. Cover image - p. Cover 2. Title page - p. iii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iv 5. Preface - p. vii 6. Acknowledgments - p. ix 7. Innovation Meets the Translation Gap - p. x 8. Chapter 1. Stop the Madness and Cure Something - p. 3 9. Chapter 2. Into the Valley of Death - p. 9 10. Chapter 3. Clinical Promise ≠ Investment Practice - p. 19 11. Chapter 4. Velcade, a Biotech Success Story - p. 27 12. Chapter 5. Biotechnology and the Future of Pharma - p. 33 13. Chapter 6. Why Pharma Should Care About the Valley of Death - p. 41 14. Chapter 7. Porter’s Five Forces and the Market for Angel Capital - p. 49 15. Chapter 8. Out of the Frying Pan: The Fire’s Not So Great Either - p. 63 16. Chapter 9. Getting to Australia - p. 73 17. Translation Gap 1: Universities Don’t Make What Companies Need - p. 80 18. Chapter 10. When Is an Experiment Ready for the Valley of Death? - p. 85 19. Chapter 11. Unintended Consequences of Applying for a Patent - p. 95 20. Chapter 12. What if It Doesn’t Actually Work? - p. 105 21. Chapter 13. Building a Better Mousetrap - p. 113 22. Translation Gap 2: Good Innovation Is Not Always a Good Investment - p. 119 23. Chapter 14. Due Diligence and Angel Incentives - p. 123 24. Chapter 15. What Is Value? - p. 135 25. Chapter 16. Angels at the Crux of Invention - p. 151 26. Chapter 17. Investment: A Nuanced Decision - p. 159 27. Chapter 18. Ready for a Long-Term Relationship With a Science Experiment? - p. 167 28. Chapter 19. Investing in Hockey Sticks - p. 179 29. Chapter 20. Harps for Angels - p. 189 30. Chapter 21. Connecting Innovation to Investment - p. 197 31. Translation Gap 3: Technology Transfer Wastes Money and Innovation - p. 205 32. Chapter 22. Mitigating Supplier Power - p. 209 33. Chapter 23. Preventing Speeding by Closing the Road - p. 223 34. Chapter 24. Breaking Old Habits - p. 231 35. Epilogue - p. 242 36. Chapter 25. Epilogue: Why We Do This - p. 247 37. Index - p. 257
Preserving the Promise: Improving the Culture of Biotech Investment critically examines why most biotech startups fail, as they emerge from universities into an ecosystem that inhibits rather than encourages innovation. This "Valley of Death" squanders our public investments in medical research and with them, the promise of longer and healthier lives.
The authors explicate the Translation Gap faced by early stage biotech companies, the result of problematic technology transfer and investment practices, and provide specific prescriptions for improving translation of important discoveries into safe and effective therapies.
In Preserving the Promise, Dessain and Fishman build on their collective experience as company founders, healthcare investor (Fishman) and physician/scientist (Dessain). The book offers a forward-looking, critical analysis of "conventional wisdom" that encumbers commercialization practices. It exposes the self-defeating habits of drug development in the Valley of Death, that waste money and extinguish innovative technologies through distorted financial incentives.
1. Cover image - p. Cover 2. Title page - p. iii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iv 5. Preface - p. vii 6. Acknowledgments - p. ix 7. Innovation Meets the Translation Gap - p. x 8. Chapter 1. Stop the Madness and Cure Something - p. 3 9. Chapter 2. Into the Valley of Death - p. 9 10. Chapter 3. Clinical Promise ≠ Investment Practice - p. 19 11. Chapter 4. Velcade, a Biotech Success Story - p. 27 12. Chapter 5. Biotechnology and the Future of Pharma - p. 33 13. Chapter 6. Why Pharma Should Care About the Valley of Death - p. 41 14. Chapter 7. Porter’s Five Forces and the Market for Angel Capital - p. 49 15. Chapter 8. Out of the Frying Pan: The Fire’s Not So Great Either - p. 63 16. Chapter 9. Getting to Australia - p. 73 17. Translation Gap 1: Universities Don’t Make What Companies Need - p. 80 18. Chapter 10. When Is an Experiment Ready for the Valley of Death? - p. 85 19. Chapter 11. Unintended Consequences of Applying for a Patent - p. 95 20. Chapter 12. What if It Doesn’t Actually Work? - p. 105 21. Chapter 13. Building a Better Mousetrap - p. 113 22. Translation Gap 2: Good Innovation Is Not Always a Good Investment - p. 119 23. Chapter 14. Due Diligence and Angel Incentives - p. 123 24. Chapter 15. What Is Value? - p. 135 25. Chapter 16. Angels at the Crux of Invention - p. 151 26. Chapter 17. Investment: A Nuanced Decision - p. 159 27. Chapter 18. Ready for a Long-Term Relationship With a Science Experiment? - p. 167 28. Chapter 19. Investing in Hockey Sticks - p. 179 29. Chapter 20. Harps for Angels - p. 189 30. Chapter 21. Connecting Innovation to Investment - p. 197 31. Translation Gap 3: Technology Transfer Wastes Money and Innovation - p. 205 32. Chapter 22. Mitigating Supplier Power - p. 209 33. Chapter 23. Preventing Speeding by Closing the Road - p. 223 34. Chapter 24. Breaking Old Habits - p. 231 35. Epilogue - p. 242 36. Chapter 25. Epilogue: Why We Do This - p. 247 37. Index - p. 257
