From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology tells the astonishing story of how the biotech industry grew to thousands of small companies around the world, competing with the major pharmaceutical companies that had dominated for a century, and how academic research, venture capital, and contract research organizations worked together to support them.

List of Figures and Tables Preface Chapter 1: Following the Map of the Genome Chapter 2: The Molecules Chapter 3: The Costly Drug Development Process Chapter 4: The Companies Chapter 5: Biotech-Pharma Alliances Chapter 6: The Biotech Entrepreneur Chapter 7: The Biotech Industry Track Record Chapter 8: The Future of the Biotech Industry Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Bibliography Index About the Authors

"Written with authority" -- Financial Times "A fascinating guide to the complex business of biotechnology, with deep insights into the key factors, players, interactions and behaviors that have shaped the success of this industry. Suitable as a primer for those with no knowledge of the field, or as a refresher for the cognoscenti. Trigger warning: contains material that may distress pharma management" -- Sir Gregory Winter FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge University, recipient of 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "A must read for all biotechnology leaders, this is a state-of-the-art analysis of the industry from two of its most successful entrepreneurs and a top business school professor, bringing rigor and actionable insight." -- Dr Richard Mason, CEO of Apollo Therapeutics and former head of Johnson & Johnson's London Innovation Center "How is it possible that a few thousand small companies, many of them short-lived, can out-compete the mighty pharma majors at their own game? Understanding this puzzle is of fundamental importance for industry leaders and policy makers alike. This marvelous insider analysis is a must-read." -- Stefan Scholtes, Dennis Gillings Professor of Health Management, Cambridge University Centre for Health Leadership & Enterprise "A remarkable synthesis and analysis of the Biotech industry that is a must-read for those trying to develop new life-saving medicines." -- Margaret A. Liu, M.D., DSchc, MDhc, FISV, CEO of Pax Therapeutics, and board member, Ipsen, S.A. "Anyone who wants to understand how to leverage ecosystems for innovation in the face of uncertainty must read this rigorous analysis of how biotech companies, investors, government and big pharma have worked together to achieve some of the biggest scientific and commercial breakthroughs of the last century." -- Arnoud De Meyer, Professor Emeritus and former President, Singapore Management University "A must read for everybody interested in the medical biotech industry, practically relevant and theoretically sound." -- Jürgen Mihm, , Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD "An outstanding overview of the science and the business of innovative drugs. Students, researchers and policy makers will be immensely benefited from this book." -- Mahmud Hassan, Ph.D, Professor and Director, Pharmaceutical Management Program, Rutgers Business School

Donald Drakeman, PhD, was the founding CEO of the US biotech company that pioneered the development of the checkpoint inhibitor cancer treatments recognized in the Nobel Prize for Medicine 2018. These products, YERVOY and OPDIVO, are being used to treat many different forms of cancer. He is a Fellow in Operations and Technology Management at the Cambridge Judge Business School, Distinguished Research Professor in the Program on Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and a Venture Partner at Advent Life Sciences. His publications have been cited in numerous patents and by the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. A graduate of Columbia Law School, he received a PhD from Princeton University. Lisa Drakeman, PhD, was the founding CEO of one of Europe's most successful biotechnology companies. Under her leadership, the company set numerous financing records, including a record setting IPO, and inaugurated research programs leading to the new FDA-approved medicines DARZALEX (multiple myeloma) and KESIMPTA (multiple sclerosis). She is a member of the board of the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation for Research Development. She has received numerous industry honors, including the Sol J. Barer Award for Vision, Innovation, and Leadership. She has been a faculty member at Princeton University and regularly lectures on entrepreneurship at universities in the US and Europe. She received a PhD from Princeton University. Nektarios Oraiopoulos, PhD, is the Director of the MPhil Programme in Strategy, Marketing, & Operations and an Associate Professor of Operations and Technology Management at the Cambridge Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge. His research on innovation and R&D management has appeared in the leading journals of the field. He has won multiple awards and has been invited to make presentations at both academic and industry conferences. In addition to his academic work, he has advised entrepreneurial start-ups and has worked closely on research projects with numerous executives from the biopharmaceutical industry. He holds a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and a PhD in Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Selling point: Tells the exciting story of disruptive technologies giving birth to a new industry of biotech companies competing with Big Pharma Selling point: Details how biotech entrepreneurs succeeded in creating the most breakthrough medicines of the past two decades with the latest academic research Selling point: Explains the expensive, time-consuming, and highly regulated bench-to-bedside biomedical R&D process in accessible language Selling point: Highlights the importance of ensuring that the entire biotech ecosystem, including academic research, investors, and the pharmaceutical industry, continues to thrive Selling point: Authored by CEOs of successful US and European biotech companies, one of which pioneered the development of the checkpoint inhibitor cancer treatments recognized in the Nobel Prize for Medicine 2018