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

Social Networking

highunemployment

tight funding

downward price pressure

development efficiency

Happy 40th 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 2nd and 3rd 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 2nd and 3rd degree connections Information is readily available on them via searches

LinkedIn provides a convenient means to contact them

Your 2nd and 3rd 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 1st 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-DM1Trastuzumab,humanized monoclonalantibodyTechnology licensed from PDL Biopharma

DM-1 linkerconjugatetechnology licensedfrom 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

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