Author: Stewart Lyman

Stewart Lyman is Owner and Manager of Lyman BioPharma Consulting LLC in Seattle. He provides advice to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies as well as academic researchers and venture capital firms. Previously, he spent 14 years as a scientist at Immunex prior to its acquisition by Amgen.

Biopharma CEOs, VCs, and Hedge Fund Managers: Fifty Shades of Greed

I just returned from a family vacation and was going through my accumulated mail. I got a notice that the terms of my auto loan were being adjusted. Instead of paying $300 a month, I was shocked to find out that I would now be paying $16,667 per month. My car company (the lender) explained … Continue reading “Biopharma CEOs, VCs, and Hedge Fund Managers: Fifty Shades of Greed”

Pharma Plays The “Value” Card: Drug Spending Then And Now

Dr. John Lechleiter, the CEO of Eli Lilly, recently attempted to debunk five “Big Myths” about Big Pharma. As he wrote, “Only about 10 cents of every U.S. healthcare dollar is spent on retail prescription medicines—which is the same share that was spent on prescriptions in 1960. While the overall use of medicines to treat … Continue reading “Pharma Plays The “Value” Card: Drug Spending Then And Now”

Drug Discovery in Seattle 2015: An Updated History

The drug discovery and development process is a difficult one that takes considerable expertise in both the research and business realms. Seattle (and the rest of Washington state) currently has approximately 112 drug-focused biotechnology companies, 17 of which are publicly traded either in the U.S. or Japan. The area also has a number of non-profit … Continue reading “Drug Discovery in Seattle 2015: An Updated History”

Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two

Ebola doctors Heroic efforts admired Angels of mercy!   Genome sequencing Compare normal with patient Secrets revealed   Next-gen sequencing One big issue still out there Interpretation   Republicans rule Eye Affordable Care Act Newly covered screwed?   2.3 percent Medical devices tax Soon to disappear?   Advertised widely Personalized medicine More substance, less hype … Continue reading “Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two”

Summer Reading List: True Tales That Will Inspire and Educate You

OK, you’ve already read the latest hot science bestsellers—Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies and Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (both terrific, by the way)—and you’re wondering what to grab next. I’ve suggested below a number of remarkable science books that I’m fond of, and that you might find interesting as … Continue reading “Summer Reading List: True Tales That Will Inspire and Educate You”

The Innovation Challenge: Assessing BioPharma Startups

Developing new medicines is really difficult and very expensive. A recent report, “Decline In Economic Returns From New Drugs Raises Questions About Sustaining Innovations,” suggests that the newest medicines are generating a negative rate of return across the industry. A viewpoint commonly found on the Web opines that Big Pharma has lost the ability to … Continue reading “The Innovation Challenge: Assessing BioPharma Startups”

Academia vs. BioPharma: Young Scientists Between A Rock and A Hard Place

I’ve reached the stage of my career where I’ve been invited to give “career retrospective talks” to grad students and post-docs at academic institutions. It’s been an interesting and enjoyable experience meeting a new generation of young scientists and hearing what’s on their minds. After delivering my seminar and sharing lots of stories and advice, … Continue reading “Academia vs. BioPharma: Young Scientists Between A Rock and A Hard Place”

Cancer Immunotherapy Companies: Looking Forward and Looking Back

[Updated, 4/7/15, see below] I’ve been researching one of our local immunotherapy developers here in Seattle, trying to round up the views of industry experts regarding the future prospects of a drug at the front of its pipeline. Do they think it’s a good investment? Here’s what I found out: Analysts predict that sales of … Continue reading “Cancer Immunotherapy Companies: Looking Forward and Looking Back”

Resistance Is Futile: Why That’s A Good Thing In Biomedicine

Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation are very familiar with the Borg, a society of cybernetic individuals linked together in a collective mindset. The Borg navigate the universe in cube-shaped spacecraft actively seeking members of other races to absorb into their collective. Whenever others oppose their efforts, the Borg let them know, in no … Continue reading “Resistance Is Futile: Why That’s A Good Thing In Biomedicine”

Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)

I was having coffee with a friend recently and the subject of word processing software came up. My friend related how he was happily using WordStar. WordStar? I hadn’t thought about it in years, but it was the first computer program I ever used, way back in 1984. I was surprised to find that not … Continue reading “Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)”

What’s Missing From Education? Critical Thinking

There is too little emphasis on teaching critical thinking skills in schools. Many adults have little understanding of important science and technology issues, which leaves them open to poor decision making on matters that will affect both their families as well as society in general. A good example would be a failure to understand and … Continue reading “What’s Missing From Education? Critical Thinking”

Prescription Drug Pricing: The Fine Line Between Value and Greed

Value. It’s one of the most frequently used buzzwords on both Wall Street and in healthcare. Virtually every press release from a publicly traded company assures us that its latest acquisition/layoff/tax inversion/sale of assets was designed “to increase shareholder value.” But what exactly is “value” and how is it measured? Here are some definitions from … Continue reading “Prescription Drug Pricing: The Fine Line Between Value and Greed”

Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Accessing Unaffordable Science Journals

If you work in academia or in Big Pharma, you likely have easy access to the world’s scientific literature. Outside of these places, however, obtaining affordable access to the latest scientific journals is much more problematic. This includes scientists at all but the largest biopharma companies, doctors and other health care professionals, and people wanting … Continue reading “Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Accessing Unaffordable Science Journals”

What Seattle Needs (Part 3): Working Together to Revitalize Biotech

These are incredibly exciting times in biomedical research. Though the biopharmaceutical industry is in flux, prospects for a greater understanding of the disease process, and the development of new treatments, has never been brighter. Gilead Sciences’s new hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) will actually cure most patients of their infections, and replaces treatments that were … Continue reading “What Seattle Needs (Part 3): Working Together to Revitalize Biotech”

What Seattle Needs (Part 2): Dealing With Amgen’s Upcoming Departure

Reality bites: Amgen’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) decision to leave Washington state is a serious blow to our local bioscience ecosystem. Those who think that all of those people who got laid off (or choose not to relocate) will be able to find biopharma jobs here in Seattle are kidding themselves. Our community is not large and … Continue reading “What Seattle Needs (Part 2): Dealing With Amgen’s Upcoming Departure”

What Seattle Needs (Part 1): “Semi-Successful” Biotech Companies

I know what you’re thinking: that’s a pretty strange headline. Why would a city want to attract or build companies that are only “semi-successful?” Wouldn’t it want companies that are flourishing or expanding rapidly? Actually, here in Seattle, we don’t. Semi-successful companies are exactly what we need here as the river of economic change washes … Continue reading “What Seattle Needs (Part 1): “Semi-Successful” Biotech Companies”

Which Countries Excel in Creating New Drugs? It’s Complicated

A lot has been written lately about innovation, or the lack thereof, in the world of biopharma. One question that often gets asked: which countries lead the way in creating new medicines? Many people think that drugs originate in the nation where the companies that produce them are headquartered. The truth, however, is much more … Continue reading “Which Countries Excel in Creating New Drugs? It’s Complicated”

Military Strategies Being Used in the War on Cancer

Nearly everyone has heard of the War on Cancer, which was launched during the Nixon administration with the passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971. The goal of this legislation was to eradicate (or at least significantly decrease) the number of U.S. cancer deaths. Progress in meeting this goal has been slow over the … Continue reading “Military Strategies Being Used in the War on Cancer”

Saying Nothing With Style: The 2014 BioPharma Edition of BS Bingo

Several years ago, I wrote an article venting my frustrations with having to sift through the fog and jargon of poorly written analyses of the biotech/pharmaceutical industry. I recounted that, “years ago, a thoughtful co-worker passed along to me a copy of a game called ‘BS Bingo’ that was designed to keep you awake during … Continue reading “Saying Nothing With Style: The 2014 BioPharma Edition of BS Bingo”

Prostate Cancer Screening: Seduction Of The Innocent

Many rare book collectors keep an eye out for an original copy of Seduction of the Innocent, a cause célèbre when it was published back in the 1950s by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. The tome purported to show that the root cause of juvenile delinquency in the U.S. was comic books! Sensationalistic congressional hearings followed in … Continue reading “Prostate Cancer Screening: Seduction Of The Innocent”

BioPharma Learns From Marvel, Begins Real Life Search For “X-Men”

Biopharma employees read, as you might expect, a wide spectrum of scientific journals and trade publications. What might be surprising is that their reading lists appear to have expanded recently to include classic Marvel comics. What’s led me to this conclusion? The Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB has sponsored an Innovation Challenge on the InnoCentive Website … Continue reading “BioPharma Learns From Marvel, Begins Real Life Search For “X-Men””

Appearing Briefly at Your Next Conference: “Whac-A-Mole” Speakers

Whac-A-Mole, for those of you who are not familiar with it, is a fast-paced arcade game in which mechanical moles pop quickly in and out of holes on a large board. You earn points by whacking them with a giant hammer whenever they pop out of their holes. You need really good reflexes to do … Continue reading “Appearing Briefly at Your Next Conference: “Whac-A-Mole” Speakers”

Why It’s Time to Retire the Term “Life Sciences”

I originally thought about titling this piece “Life Sciences, Biosciences, BioPharma, Biotech, and Healthcare: What’s the Difference?” but that was simply too unwieldy. Many people use these terms interchangeably without thinking about what they specifically refer to, and which types of jobs and activities they encompass. Are they all the same thing? I don’t think … Continue reading “Why It’s Time to Retire the Term “Life Sciences””

Bad Statistics, and Bad Training, Are Sabotaging Drug Discovery

One of the most widely read college textbooks in the 1960s and ‘70s was How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff. Despite the humorous title, the serious intent of the book (written by a journalist, not a statistician) was to illustrate how common errors in the use of statistics frequently lead to misleading conclusions. … Continue reading “Bad Statistics, and Bad Training, Are Sabotaging Drug Discovery”

Modern Day Scrooges Are Ruining Our Health Care System

More than a 150 years ago Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol introduced the character Ebenezer Scrooge, who was the embodiment of greed, “tight-fisted…. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire.” If Dickens were alive today he’d recognize that … Continue reading “Modern Day Scrooges Are Ruining Our Health Care System”

Time to Come Clean: Why A High-Tech Guy Envies the Low-Tech World

I’m ready to confess that I’ve been basking in a particular drug-induced fantasy for a number of years. It’s a different type than we usual read about, and I suspect it’s shared by a fair number of other folks who work in biopharma. We dream of the day when a medicine we created begins to … Continue reading “Time to Come Clean: Why A High-Tech Guy Envies the Low-Tech World”

Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate

Residents of Washington State are currently being buried in an avalanche of ads regarding a citizen’s initiative that would require the labeling of genetically engineered  foods sold in grocery stores. Estimates for the percentage of items that contain genetically engineered ingredients in a grocery store range from 60 percent to 70 percent (most of those … Continue reading “Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate”

Are Some Degrees Better than Others for Big Pharma Leaders?

Biopharmaceutical companies are under a great deal of financial pressure these days, and many are tinkering with long established business models. There can be no doubt that the industry is in flux as a result of pricing pressures from insurance companies, changing patent regulations and expirations, healthcare reform, and an increased focus on proving significant … Continue reading “Are Some Degrees Better than Others for Big Pharma Leaders?”

Lost in Translation: The Novice’s Guide to BioPharma Idioms

Many fields of endeavor have their own special words, abbreviations, and coded language. People working in each of these disciplines learn over time how to use certain phrases that describe items or situations in the best possible light. In real estate listings, for example, a house will never be designated as “small.” Instead, it might … Continue reading “Lost in Translation: The Novice’s Guide to BioPharma Idioms”

Baseball and Biopharma: More Alike Than You Might Realize

This may seem like a surprising observation, but it’s true. Biopharma companies and baseball teams employ similar strategies that they hope will result in either a blockbuster drug or winning the World Series. The challenges each faces are significant. Did you realize that the percentage of drugs that are put into clinical trials and successfully … Continue reading “Baseball and Biopharma: More Alike Than You Might Realize”

Assigning Credit and Blame to Biopharma R&D Chiefs

There’s been an awful lot of turnover lately among Big Biopharma R&D chiefs, with departures from Merck, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Roche, and AbbVie. Their average tenure in this position was less than 7 years; the range was from less than 2 to 12. That’s similar to the average CEO tenure, which is only 8.4 … Continue reading “Assigning Credit and Blame to Biopharma R&D Chiefs”

The Devil is in the Details: What BioPharma Press Releases Don’t Say

While my primary focus is on the research side of the business, I have to admit that for many biotechs, their survival may be tied to the art of the deal. Kevin Kinsella of Avalon Ventures shared his thoughts with Xconomy readers awhile back on the increasingly hard bargains that Big Pharma is extracting from … Continue reading “The Devil is in the Details: What BioPharma Press Releases Don’t Say”

Has The Pendulum Swung Too Far in Favor of Rare Diseases?

As a politician, one of the worst things you can be accused of is being a flip-flopper, a person who changes their mind on one or more issues. Another way of looking at this character trait is to say one has thoughtfully wrestled with an issue and changed one’s mind, as President Obama recently did … Continue reading “Has The Pendulum Swung Too Far in Favor of Rare Diseases?”

The Academy Awards: Biopharma Edition

Academy Award season is upon us, with the Oscars being polished up in anticipation of the big night. Who knows which Hollywood heavyweights and newcomers will be recognized for their seminal contributions to this year’s films? Suppose, however, that there was a drug industry version of the awards. What kind of categories would there be, … Continue reading “The Academy Awards: Biopharma Edition”

Got Cancer? Sorry, There’s No App for That

That’s right. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are no apps for treating Parkinson’s either. Or ALS. Or Alzheimer’s, or one of a large number of other diseases I could name and you don’t want to have. Numerous pharma and biotech companies have created more than a hundred different apps, … Continue reading “Got Cancer? Sorry, There’s No App for That”

The Enduring Success of a Healthcare Radical

I’ve spent some time over the past few months reading about an American political figure’s transformative role in our health care system. His crusade began when his staff surveyed drug prices in 77 countries and found “of these, 28 allowed product patents and the prices of drugs in those countries were 18 to 255 times … Continue reading “The Enduring Success of a Healthcare Radical”

Rescuing Patent-Less Proteins from the Drug Development Dustbin

“Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor.” The Greek poet Hesiod wasn’t referring to the drug development process when he wrote these words, but they certainly apply to that setting. Back in the early days of the biotechnology industry, a number of newly identified proteins were considered for … Continue reading “Rescuing Patent-Less Proteins from the Drug Development Dustbin”

The Reproducibility Initiative: A Good Idea in Theory that Won’t Work in Practice

The failure of scientists to independently confirm much of the data contained in “hot” academic publications is casting a long shadow over the biopharmaceutical industry. Research groups at Amgen and Bayer reported that the data in a significant percentage of published “breakthrough” papers from academic scientists could not be confirmed in their labs. Given that … Continue reading “The Reproducibility Initiative: A Good Idea in Theory that Won’t Work in Practice”

Would Longer Drug Patents Really Lead to Lower Drug Prices?

Imagine needing a drug to save your life, finding one that is likely to work, and then realizing you can’t afford it. This was the ironic situation that recently confronted a research physician who was diagnosed with leukemia, the very disease he had devoted his life to studying. Fortunately, the doctor’s friends raised the money … Continue reading “Would Longer Drug Patents Really Lead to Lower Drug Prices?”

Woeful Websites: How to Guarantee Your Startup Won’t Get Funding

You don’t have to work in venture capital to know that many biotech startups are having a difficult time raising money. The economy remains in the tank, and the former Olympic-sized pool of accessible cash now more closely resembles a wading pool. There are an enormous number of reasons why a company will have difficulty … Continue reading “Woeful Websites: How to Guarantee Your Startup Won’t Get Funding”

Clash of the BioPharma Titans Looms Over Biosimilars

Fights between powerful combatants form the foundation of many mythological tales. In the epic film Clash of the Titans, Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus, must kill the monstrous Kraken before it can annihilate his beloved Princess Andromedra and the citizenry of Joppa. Perseus heroically decapitates the dreaded Gorgon Medusa to obtain the most powerful … Continue reading “Clash of the BioPharma Titans Looms Over Biosimilars”

Basic Biology: The Complex Core of Drug Discovery

The hardest task in major league sports is hitting a baseball. Those who can successfully do this even three out of every ten times over the course of a career are likely to find themselves enshrined in Cooperstown at the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, scientists who strive to discover new medicines can only fantasize about … Continue reading “Basic Biology: The Complex Core of Drug Discovery”

Virtual Biotech Companies: Built on Solid Bedrock or Unstable Landfill?

A recent meeting focused on “Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model” provided an interesting window into the spectrum of approaches being used to create new biotech companies. Unfortunately, it did little to relieve the concerns I recently voiced regarding the expanding numbers of “virtual” biotechs. This model is becoming a popular archetype for the creation of new … Continue reading “Virtual Biotech Companies: Built on Solid Bedrock or Unstable Landfill?”

BioPharma Needs A Safe, Reliable Way To Repair Broken Genes

The sequencing of the human genome didn’t immediately lead to treatments for a number of diseases, as many had hoped and a smaller number had predicted. However, the enormous drop in the price of DNA sequencing over the past decade has now made it possible to sequence an individual’s complete genome for less than $5,000. … Continue reading “BioPharma Needs A Safe, Reliable Way To Repair Broken Genes”

A Seussian Guide to BioPharma

Years ago, pharma’s rep was grand, Selling drugs throughout the land. Many different problems mended, Diseases treated, lives extended. Sulfa drugs, antibiotics, Pain-relieving strong narcotics. A high point before the age of genes, Were Salk and Sabin’s new vaccines. Profit margins super high, Income more than “getting by”. As a group, they were admired, Nowadays, … Continue reading “A Seussian Guide to BioPharma”

Will New Business Models Enhance or Endanger Drug Discovery?

The most successful biotechs of the past quarter century have been companies that established relatively large, cutting edge research programs, such as Biogen, Immunex, and Genentech. I’ll refer to this as the B.I.G. model. These companies were able to hire young, innovative scientists by promising them a certain degree of intellectual freedom to pursue research … Continue reading “Will New Business Models Enhance or Endanger Drug Discovery?”

iPubSci: An Alternative to Unaffordable Science Journals

Advances in the biomedical sciences are highly dependent upon researchers having a clear understanding of the current state of knowledge. This information is primarily acquired by having access to the scientific literature via professional journals and, less commonly, books. Unfortunately, this body of literature has not only expanded greatly over the past few decades, most … Continue reading “iPubSci: An Alternative to Unaffordable Science Journals”