career options life scientist 04jun10
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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
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
