Lessons from a Biotech CEO

 

I heard about the book from a podcast where Vineeta Agarwala (a16z) mentioned it as a source of inspiration and a book that left a lot of imprint on her. It was fascinating to read the account of Gordon Binder, one of the early CEOs of AMGEN - now a very big pharmaceutical company. The challenges a CEO of a biotech company faces are very different and unique than an ordinary one. For example - out of every 5000 compounds that show promise in the lab and in animals - only 5 proceed further. In terms of operating expenses - there are immense costs to run a lab. Along with paying the talented scientists, one also has to foot the bill for fitting the lab per square foot. Similarly, the cost of having a drug approved from the lab to the stores is enormous. It can take 6+ years in clinical trials.Requiring many volunteers. And, then before all that 3-5 years of pre-clinical trials.

Biotech is a tough field because even when you do everything right, follow the process - the project may implode at any point without warning. Clinical trials are tough because anything can go wrong at any phase. Clinical studies need to be designed very accurately in a balanced manner. Sometimes pre-clinical trials on different species of animals can take 1-2 years themselves.

The drug that features heavily in the book is erythropoietin (EPO). It occurs naturally in the body but this drug artificially creates a longer lasting protein.

The book also highlighted why some drugs can be taken orally v/s why some drugs had to be taken via injection. Large proteins if taken orally are chopped by the enzymes in the digestive tract. Thus, they don’t get into the bloodstream. 

It was interesting to observe that even in a biotech company there are conflicts arising on the lines of high or low science, and R&D politics are common. 

The author at one point says that he learned over many years that always favor Talent over Experience (Talent > Experience) because talent always has room to grow and adapt. 

He also said that Employee of the Month is always a bad idea considering bruised egos and issues around fairness. Furthermore, it shouldn’t be relegated to a monthly contest or just one employee. 

Assessing the legacy of any business leader - one must take into account the company he took over as well as the company he left behind.