
Who said you can’t have fun in biotech? The Silver Spring, Maryland-based United Therapeutics, instead of conventional typed pages and figures, employed a caricaturist and comic book artist, Jed Mickle, to write their annual report. At 44 pages, it’s narrated by vice president of business development, Martin Auster, who dances through the pages to share the tale of his own career path, what makes UT and its employees, the Unitherians, so special, and, of course, a few figures about revenue and product development.
Did I mention that he drew one page that requires 3D glasses?
The company’s major product is Remodulin, which treats pulmonary arterial hypertension, high blood pressure in lung arteries that can cause a shortness of breath. It’s currently offered as an injection or inhaled drug, the sales of which make up 92% of the company’s profits. Earlier this month, a clinical trial of an oral version of the drug allowed patients to walk 25 meters in 6 minutes, 30 meters more than a placebo. Reuters reports that this fell below expectations, but founder and CEO Martine Rothblatt remains enthused..
If their annual report reveals any truth about the company, it’s not hard to believe that they’ll pick themselves right back up.


Images used with permission of United Therapeutics. Read the entire report here.