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Traditional education paths don't sufficiently train individuals to manage or start biotechnology enterprises. What solutions can fill this vital need?
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Educating the Next Generation of
Biotechnology Managers and Founders
PittconMarch 1st 2010Yali Friedman, Ph.D. – [email protected]
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
1. 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
2. Prepare 3 questions for each speaker• This is a life skill: You should be able to ask three
intelligent questions of everyone you meet
3. 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
companiesWhich 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 noformal 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 – [email protected]