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Let’s start with the good news first. A report issued by the National Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers found that venture capital investment in biotechnology grew 22 percent in 2011. And, now the bad news; initial funding for biotechnology startups seeking investment hit a 16 year low last year. The consensus among financial analysts is that life science investors are increasingly focusing on later stage companies because they carry less clinical and regulatory risks as compared with early stage ones. Put simply, VCs, like everyone else, have become much more risk adverse and do not want to invest in companies that don’t have a minimum history of success.

According to the report, venture firms spent $4.73 billion on 446 biotechnology companies in 2011, the highest dollar amount since 2007. Approximately, 153 biotechnology and medical devices companies received their first round of funding last year.

Finally, the US Food and Drug Administration approved 30 drugs in 2011; 13 of which were developed in part by venture funding.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This past holiday season, as usual, was rife with massive layoffs and downsizing at various big pharma companies. Interestingly, in 2011, most biotechnology companies were able to weather the economic downturn and layoffs were not typical. Sadly, 2012 looks to be a more challenging year for many biotechnology company employees.

In the past week or so, several relatively high profile public biotechnology companies announced layoffs. First, on January 5, XOMA, the long- struggling California-based biotechnology company issued a press release indicating its intention to reorganize to focus it financial resources on its lead product gevokizumab and the company’s unique antibody discovery and development capabilities. The reorganization will result in elimination of 84 positions (34% of its workforce) with 50 jobs being lost immediately and the remainder by the end of the first quarter of this year. The layoffs will save the company $14 million. The same day, Winnipeg-based Cangene Corp, one of Canada’s oldest and largest biotechnology company announced that it would eliminate 120 jobs or 17% of its current workforce.  Finally, today, Human Genome Sciences (HGS) announced at the annual JP Morgan conference in San Francisco announced plans to eliminate 150 jobs across multiple departments.

The HGS announcement was somewhat surprising because the company recently received approval for a pioneering systemic lupus erythematous drug called Benlysta. Apparently, poor Benlysta sales have battered the company’s stock price which resulted in the announced layoffs. HGS reported Benlysta sales of a slightly more than $25 million in the fourth quarter which were must less than analysts had originally predicted.

Although these layoffs may be troubling to some, it is important to note that each of  the three companies have been in existence for 20 years or more and are transitioning from research organizations into companies that are finally commercializing their products. Like it or not, companies with commercial products are held to higher standards and receive much greater scrutiny than start ups and early stage companies. That said, while there may be additional layoffs at some older more established biotechnology companies, it may be a good time to start a company. Word on the street suggests that there is a lot of investment capital out there for new start ups!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

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I attend this year's BIO meeting in DC and ran into an old friend, Stan Yakatan of Katan Associates.  For those of you who do not know Stan, he has been associated in a variety of capacities within the Life Sciences industry for the past 35 years.

The job titles that he has accrued over his career include CEO, Chairman, Managing Director, Board Member, Investor, Entrepreneur and Mensch!  Hanging out with Stan at life sciences meetings is always interesting, exciting, unpredictable and most often fun!  That said, Stan is a wealth of information about the life sciences industry and I was surprised to learn that he has an invterview video on YouTube!

To that end, I thought it would be interesting to post the interview @BioJobBlog.  Stan's historical and current perspective on the US life sciences industry is interesting to say the least!

If you want to contact Stan please click here!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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There is no longer any doubt that big pharma companies are beginning to reduce their emphasis on internal R&D activities. Instead the companies will increasingly rely on outsourcing, partnerships, closer collaborations with academia, public private partnerships and M&A to keep their drug development pipelines full

Therefore it was not surprising when Merck’s new CEO, Kenneth Frazier recently mentioned in a conference call to financial analysts and investors that its multi-billion spending on new drug R & D will likely decline as a percentage of overall sales in the coming years. Merck is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world

According to an article on Nasdaq.com, in 2010, Merck spent $11 billion on R&D, or 24% of total sales. Adjusted to exclude certain acquisition-related and other costs, R&D spending was $8.1 billion. Merck has predicted 2011 adjusted R&D spending would be $8.1 billion to $8.5 billion for 2011.

Frazier, the first African American CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, came under pressure earlier this year after he decided to not substantially cut R&D as many of Merck’s rivals, most notably Pfizer, did. He noted that cuts in R&D spending would have jeopardized Merck’s long term product development pipeline.

While rumors persist that Merck may be seeking to jettison its non-pharmaceutical consumer health and animal health businesses, Frazier insisted that the two units are complementary to its core pharmaceutical and vaccine focus and are not for sale. That said, if I was a Merck employee in either of those divisions, I would be updating my resume just about now.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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After a long drought, venture capital and private equity investments into private life sciences companies are beginning to flow again. VCs and fund managers have monies that must be invested into promising new ventures. The best way to find the right investors is to present at life sciences investment fairs like LifeScienceFest Americas. This year BioJobBlog and BioCrowd are cosponsoring the event.  

If you are interested in presenting your company to qualified investors, please read the information presented below and take advantage of discounted rates.

APPLY NOW TO PRESENT AT LIFESCIENCEFEST AMERICAS - JUNE 17, 2011
Investorfest Media is proud to announce call for nominations from promising startups for
LifeScienceFest Americas conference on June 17th.  At the 3rd annual venture conference, we will showcase up to 16 promising innovators seeking funding to active life science angels and investors.

APPLICATION DEADLINE : MAY 14, 2011
If you are a startup (seed, Series-A,B,C or restart) from the medical device, diagnostic or
healthcare technology space and you are seeking new investment to start or grow to the
next level, this is THE conference for you. You must be seeking funding from $250K to
under $20M. Learn more on the application process, segments of interest and deadlines.

CONNECT WITH LEADING INVESTORS AT LIFESCIENCEFEST
General Partners & angels from 20+ leading firms including Sand Hill Angels, Band of Angels, Keiretsu Forum, Claremont Creek Ventures, Bay City Capital,Physic Ventures, Psilos Ventures, Sofinnova Ventures,  Lumira Capital and many others will be at the event. Learn more..

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Investors from Founders of promising innovative companies seeking capital to industry executives, investors and M&A professionals will be in attendance at this exclusive, limited seating event. Non-presenting entrepreneurs can also attend, and must register early to reserve their spot. Register Now to reserve your spot

BIOJOBBLOG BIOCROWD MEMBER DISCOUNT
A limited number of discounted tickets are available for Biocrowd members who will receive $50 off early bird registration and pay just $299. Apply code BIOCR50. Discounts are offered to qualified non-service provider professionals from the life science and med device industry and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Register Now at the discounted rate.

ABOUT INVESTORFEST MEDIA
Investorfest Media is the leading VC funding accelerator working in the life science and medical device space. Through our highly focused training and hands on support, qualified companies are put in front of specially chosen investors our annual LifeScienceFest conference. To date over 75% of presenting companies have gone on to receive funding, with over $280 million being raised since 2006. Learn more at investorfest.com

Until next time

Good Luck and Good VC Hunting!!!!!!

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I am certain that many of you may have noticed that the size of the life sciences industry is shrinking at an unprecedented rate. Big pharma companies flush with cash, near- empty pipelines and impending patent cliffs have embarked on a buying spree that is likely to continue for next years (or at least until the economy shows clear signs of resuscitation). Pfizer’s impending acquisition of King Pharmaceuticals is just another transaction in a long list of M&A deals that have occurred over the past three years.                             

According to an article in today’s NY Times, roughly $42.2 billion worth of pharma deals have been transacted so far this year. That number is close to the $45.8 billion in M&A transactions announced by the same time last year (excluding Pfizer’s acquisition of Wyeth and Merck’s purchase of Schering Plough). Unfortunately, these mega-merger deals almost always result in massive layoffs in the industry.

While blockbuster mergers may not be good for pharmaceutical employees, the behind the scenes players—investment bankers, brokers, advisers and consultants—make out extremely well. For example, according to an article in Pharmaceutical Technology Europe, over a three month period in 2009 pharmaceutical company merger and acquisition activities generated $500 million in advisory fees for investment bankers. Clearly, mergers and acquisitions are in the best interest of company executives and the investment bankers not pharmaceutical employees.

There is no question that the recession and the down economy are driving much of the M&A activity in the life sciences sector. And, industry consolation is to be expected during challenging economic times. However, while M&A may be in the best interest of pharma company shareholders in the short term, I don’t think it will help to insure American competitiveness and innovation in the life sciences over the long term. 

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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American competitiveness in engineering, technology and science. Unfortunately, while American competitiveness and innovation in these areas continues to wane, little has been done (except talking) about it! Yesterday, Intel and 24 venture capital funds announced that they plan to invest $3.5 billion in American startups and early stage ventures over the next two years. Further, in addition, several of America’s leading technology companies including Google, Cisco Systems, Intel Microsoft and 13 others pledged to add as many as 10,500 jobs into 2010—mainly by hiring Americans graduating from colleges with degrees in computer science and engineering.

The initiative, named the Invest in America Alliance was formed in response to “steadily declining long-term investments in education, technology and human capital” that has been taking place in the US for past 20 years or more. Put simply, the American education system is not training enough qualified individuals to allow the US to compete with other emerging technology and engineering powerhouses that include China, India Finland, Korea and the Netherlands. 

According to Robert Compton, a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and education enthusiast “Fewer than 10 percent of college graduates in the US have engineering degrees, compared with more than one-third in India and China and more foreign-born graduates of US universities are returning to their home countries.” For those of you with degrees in math and science (and you base your calculations on population size), the magnitude of the problem (for Americans anyway) is glaringly obvious. Compton went on to say what many others have been thinking for a while, “Early indicators are that we are not the center of innovation anymore. It is shifting to the East.” And he may be right! Based on surveys conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organization in the last year, patent filings increased 30 percent in China while declining 11 percent in the US.

While the Invest in America Alliance appears to be a great public relations opportunity for the companies and venture firms that are participating in it, its critics doubt whether investing more money in technology startups is going to fix the ongoing problem. Education analysts contend that a better and cheaper solution may be changing US immigration laws so that foreign students who train in the US are allowed to remain in the country after they complete their training. Other naysayers contend that most of the venture money committed by the alliance would have likely gone to American startups anyway (US based venture firms already invest 70 percent of their money in American start ups) and that 10,500 new jobs isn’t enough to make a dent in the US unemployment rolls.

Like the technology industry, a decade of wrong-head immigration policies coupled with a waning American interest in science has begun to jeopardize the US dominance in the life sciences. Further these trends are largely responsible for the massive layoffs and unrelenting outsourcing of pharmaceutical R&D jobs to foreign countries.

Toothless or not, the Invest in America Alliance shows that engineering and technology industry leaders are willing to cooperate with one another and get behind an initiative that raises public awareness about America’s waning competitiveness in these fields. Perhaps,   pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices and diagnostic companies ought to take a page out of the Alliance’s play book to similarly insure the future innovation and competitiveness of the American life sciences industry.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

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A rare or orphan disease is defined in the US as one that affects fewer than 200,000 at any given time. It is estimated that there are 6000 to 8000 rare diseases in the world today. Because the number of patients afflicted with orphan diseases is so small, drug companies have historically been reluctant to invest money to discover and develop new treatments for them. The dearth of treatments for rare diseases induced Congress to pass the Orphan Drug Act in 1983 which provided market exclusivity, tax breaks and incentives and regulatory help for companies to development new drugs for orphan disease indications.

While many current blockbuster drugs including recombinant human insulin, growth hormone and erythropoietin originally garnered regulatory approval after receiving orphan status in the late 1980s, most big pharma and biotechnology companies (except Genzyme) largely abandoned orphan drug development until recently. The renewed interest in orphan drug development has been primarily driven by the demise of big pharma’s blockbuster business model that began in the early 2000s. The search for new, non-blockbuster drugs and fresh markets is what induced Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, to recently inked a multimillion dollar deal with Protalix Biotherapeutics, a small biopharmaceutical company developing a new treatment for Gaucher disease—an orphan indication.

Because of renewed interest and the ever increasing need for new orphan drugs, the FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development is offering an Orphan Drug Designation Workshop that will provide a unique opportunity for all potential drug sponsors—including biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical firms and academic institutions—to learn about the application process for orphan drug designation.

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is a co-sponsor of the workshops, which will take place on February 25-26 at Keck Graduate Institute and August 3-4 at the University of Minnesota.

Participants are encouraged to bring specific product proposals for at least one candidate orphan drug that holds promise for the treatment of a rare disease. A significant portion of the workshop will be dedicated to preparing applications, including one-on-one guidance sessions with FDA staff members. FDA will keep product and disease information confidential.

Final applications can be submitted to the FDA at the close of each workshop. For information or to register:

FDA Workshop Brochure
Registration for the February Workshop

Finally, February 28^th is Rare Disease Day. The event is sponsored by the EURODIS a European advocacy group that promotes awareness and research for rare diseases. NORD and Discovery Health are also sponsoring the day.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

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Despite dire predictions, the biotechnology industry appears to be weathering the recession better than most. According to a CNN Money.com post “Biotechnology leapt ahead as the biggest recipient of U.S. venture capital money in the second quarter, but first-time venture investments in companies overall dropped to a 15-year low.”

Biotechnology funding grew 54% to $888 million in 85 deals, software came in flat at $644 million in 135 deals and Internet companies fell 15% to $524 million in 124 deals. While biotechnology company investments are leading the pack, the current funding levels pale in comparison to those of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Also, it is important to note that many of the biotechnology company investments were in mid to late stage ventures. Fewer investments were made in seed or early stage companies which historically have outpaced funding in late stage ones.

Venture capitalists may be favoring biotechnology investments because there is a clear exit strategy—there are more acquisitions and initial public offerings in life sciences as compared with other industries.

Look for continuing investments in the biotechnology sector—especially in molecular diagnostics and medical devices.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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