career options life scientist 04jun10

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

June 4, 2010

Gary M. Myles, J.D., Ph.D.Shareholder

Schwabe, Williamson & WyattSeattle, Washington

Career Options for the Professional Life Scientist

Summary

l Do we produce too many science PhDs?– Disconnect between science education and

career opportunities– Central role of PhD in many science careers

l A brief history of biotechnology– Merging of academic and commercial pursuits

l Biotechnology opportunities for the professional scientist

Are There Too Many PhDs?

l The dirty secret of higher education is that without underpaid graduate students to help in laboratories and with teaching, universities couldn’t conduct research or even instruct their growing undergraduate populations. That’s one of the main reasons we still encourage people to enroll indoctoral programs. It is simply cheaper to provide graduate students with modest stipends and adjuncts with as little as $5,000 a course — with no benefits — than it is to hire full-time professors.

l In other words, young people enroll in graduate programs, work hard for subsistence pay and assume huge debt burdens, all because of the illusory promise of faculty appointments. But their economical presence, coupled with the intransigence of tenure, ensures that there will always be too many candidates for too few openings.

Mark C. Taylor, “End the University as We Know It” New York Times, 26Apr09

Many of the Newly Minted PhDs are in Biological Sciences and Engineering

The PhD Enhances Earning Potential and Employability

Most Life-science PhDs do Postdoctoral Research

Post Doc

Traditional Career Paths for the PhD Scientist

BS

PhDMS

Post DocAssistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorProfessorDepartment HeadDean

BS

PhDMS

ScientistSenior ScientistAssistant DirectorDirector

Vice PresidentSenior Director

Chief Scientific Officer

Academic Career Industry Career

Disconnect between University Education and Science Career Options

l Historically, academic institutions have not promoted non-academic career paths for professional scientists– Little cross-disciplinary teaching at the

undergraduate and graduate levels l Between technologiesl Between professions (science/business/law)

– Little counseling about or practical exposure to non-academic career options for scientists

– Tendency to stigmatize students who express an interest in non-academic science careers

Disconnect between University Education and Science Career Options

l Students are entering universities to pursue academic science careers often overlook, discount, or are unaware of the low probability that they will stay in academic science

l Students are leaving universities without a vision for non-academic science careers

1980 – A Seminal Year for Biotechnology

l 370 US licensees (non-exclusive)l Est. $200MM in licensing revenue

1980 – A Seminal Year for Biotechnology

1980l Bayh-Dole Act

(University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act)

l Birch Bayh and Bob Dolel Basis for university technology

transferl Intellectual property arising

from federal government-funded research controlled by US universities, small businesses, and non-profits

1980 – A Seminal Year for Biotechnology

1980l Diamond v. Chakrabarty

(Supreme Court)l Patentability of living,

genetically engineered microorganisms under 35 U.S.C. § 101

l “Anything under the sun that is made by man”

Shift in Focus of Research Efforts toward Commercialization

l The Problem of Publish or Perish– Tragedy of Freedom in the Commons

l When a resource is open to all it becomes available to no one Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons” Science 162:1243-1258 (1968)

l “This concept is readily adapted to the quandary that the great discoveries in biomedical research in the 1960s and 1970s did not benefit the public” Howard Schachman, “From ‘Publish or Perish’ to ‘Patent and Prosper’ ”, J. Biol. Chem. 281(11):6889-6903 (2006)

Taxpayer $ NIH/NSF Publication

Shift in Focus of Research Efforts toward Commercialization

l Howard Schachman, “From ‘Publish to Perish’ to ‘Patent and ‘Prosper’ ” JBC (2006)

Shift in Focus of Research Efforts toward Commercialization

l Patent and Prosper– The incentive of companies to commercialize

derives from the exclusive rights to manufacture that are afforded by the patent system

Taxpayer $ NIH/NSF Publication Patent

Technology Transfer

Commercialization

US National Biotech Clusters

The revenue for worldwide publicly-traded biotechnology companies increased 12% to $89.7 billion in 2008.

Market Capitalization

Top 3 US Market Capitalization (10/07)

l Exxon Mobil Corp., $511B l General Electric, $414B

TOTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY WORLDWIDE $410Bl Microsoft Corp., $328B

The Biotechnology Industry Operates at a Loss

l In 2008, the global biotech industry lost $1.4 billion (down from 2007's loss of $3 billion)

l The U.S. segment of the biotech industry made a profit in of $0.4 billion in 2008Ernst & Young, “Beyond Borders: Global Biotechnology Report 2009”

The Major Players in Biotechnology

The Biotech Companies

Sources of Technology and Intellectual Property

(Universities and Non-profits)

Sources of Financing(Public (SBIR/STTR),

Private (Angels and VC), and Big Pharma/Biotech)

Law Firms(Service Providers)

Incubators

Biotech Companies Require Cross-disciplinary Expertise

Technology- Protein/Antibody - DNA/RNA- Small molecule- Diagnostics

Law- Corporate

• Licenses and other agreements- Intellectual Property

• Patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets

Business- Deals

• In/out licenses• Corporate Partners• Mergers & Acquisitions

- Venture Financing

JD/PhDMBA/PhD

JD/MBA

Venture Financing/Investment Banking• Due Diligence

The PhD is Central to Many Science Career Paths

PhD

Academic Science

Industrial Science

Business Development• Dealmaking

Law• Patent Prosecution• Litigation• Licensing

MSBS Regulatory• Clinical Trials/FDA Approval

JD

MBA

MD

MBA

Science Policy/Think Tank

Technology Transfer

(See, UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development)

A Few Thoughts on Strategy

l Opportunity Cost of Education– For every additional step in your education, keep

in mind the lost opportunity to earn– Education is expensive

l Law of Diminishing Returns– It takes time to extract 100% value

(learning/growth) out of every position/opportunity– Shoot for 80% value– Consider 3 year blocks– If not moving up, move on

Make Yourself Uniquely Qualified

l Take a Cross-disciplinary Approach– Professionally

l Work at the interface between professions– Science + Law– Science + Business

– Technologyl Contemplate the future of technologyl Develop expertise in a number of technologies

– Science + Engineering

Systems Biology Exemplifies the Interface between Technologies

Identify Thought Leaders

l Founded in 2000 by Lee Hood, Alan Aderem, and Ruedi Aebersold

l Mission of transforming biological and medical research by creating and using systems approaches to unravel the workings of complex biological systems

l P4 Medicine– Personalized– Preventative– Predictive– Participatory

Networking

l Networking is the on-going process of relationship building– Life-long, persistent, goal and result

oriented– Based on the premise thatlCareers don’t develop in isolationlNo one person can know everythinglPeople want to do business with people

they like and trust

Networking

l Starts at the university level– Attend seminars and networking events outside

your departmentlBusinessl LawlMedicinel Technology

– Other Culturesl India and China next dominant economic

powers?

Networking

l Continue throughout your career– Trade and professional meetings– Entrepreneur networks– Teaching and mentoring

Some Parting Words of Wisdom

l When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.Helen Keller

l If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.Milton Berle

Gary M. Myles, J.D., Ph.D.Schwabe, Willamson & Wyattgmyles@schwabe.com(206) 407-1513

Thank you!

A Brief History of Biotechnology

Early Developments Leading to the Biotech Industry

1953l Double Helix Structure

of DNAl Watson, Crick, Wilkins,

(Franklin)

Early Developments Leading to the Biotech Industry

1956l DNA Polymerase I

(Pol I)l Arthur Kornberg

Early Developments Leading to the Biotech Industry

1967l DNA Ligasel Martin Gellert

Early Developments Leading to the Biotech Industry

1970l Restriction

Endonucleasesl Werner Arber,

Hamilton Smith, and Daniel Nathans

Early Developments Leading to the Biotech Industry

1973l Recombinant DNAl Cohen and Boyer

Early Developments Leading to the Biotech Industry

1975l Monoclonal Antibodiesl Kohler and Milstein

Early Efforts to Commercialize Biotechnology Products

1976l Founding of Genentech

(Genetic Engineering Technology, Inc.)

l Robert Swanson and Herbert Boyer

l Synthetic human insulin

Early Efforts to Commercialize Biotechnology Products

1978l Biogenl Phil Sharp and Walter

Gilbertl Interferon

Early Efforts to Commercialize Biotechnology Products

1980l AMGen (Applied

Molecular Genetics)l George Rathman,

Franklin “Pitch”Johnson, Joseph Rubinfeld, Winston Salser, Lee Hood, and Bill Bowes

Modern Day Biotechnology

Worldwide Biotech Clusters

Biotech Drug Discovery Process Timeline

l $1.2Billion: The average cost to commercialize one biotech product