Five Lessons Immunex Taught Me

What happens when a biotech company disappears? We think that the Web remembers everything. Do a search on Wikipedia for Immunex and you get Amgen, with little mention of Immunex at all. The results of over 500 publications and several thousand employees over 20 years are pretty much invisible on the largest collection of facts … Continue reading “Five Lessons Immunex Taught Me”

Finding a Solution To Our Biotech Malaise Together

We have many problems in biotechnology but I think Seattle is well positioned to overcome those barriers. Bear with me as I work to one possible approach. I think there are two problems weighing on the biotechnology industry producing the current melancholy – lack of sustainable employment over a career and the inability to change … Continue reading “Finding a Solution To Our Biotech Malaise Together”

Five Lessons from Busts in Houston and Seattle that Could Be Applied in Michigan

I lived in Houston when the Oil Bust hit in the 1980s. With it came crushing unemployment. Yet Houston led the nation for the next several years in new business start-ups. Now large numbers of people work in a more diverse economy, including biotechnology, alternative energy, and information technology. Seattle, where I live today, has … Continue reading “Five Lessons from Busts in Houston and Seattle that Could Be Applied in Michigan”

Healthcare Reform Gave Biotech Everything It Wanted, and More

And so we embark on a new era of healthcare—one that may take many years to fully reach its potential for good or ill. But there are two small bits in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that are immediately relevant and timely for the biotechnology industry. One provides tax breaks for smaller biotechnology … Continue reading “Healthcare Reform Gave Biotech Everything It Wanted, and More”

Synchronicity is Not Just an Album by The Police. Nor is Serendipity Just a John Cusack movie.

The most incredible things happen when scientists with a common interest have an opportunity to simply talk with one another. On a bone-chilling December night, 50 Seattle researchers from more than 10 different institutions with dramatically different backgrounds gathered to share drinks and conversation about their work. They discovered surprising connections, initiated new collaborations and … Continue reading “Synchronicity is Not Just an Album by The Police. Nor is Serendipity Just a John Cusack movie.”

Biotech Needs Charity, and Profit Motive, To Flourish

Is it still possible to have a long, successful career doing research at a biotech company in the Seattle area? A young scientist today has only a slim chance of working for the next Immunex or Icos. Companies that last even 10 or 15 years are very rare. Yet a closer look at some of … Continue reading “Biotech Needs Charity, and Profit Motive, To Flourish”