Not Invented Here

Posted by Rick Jones | Categories: , ,

Not Invented Here

Business development professionals have long complained about the difficulty in convincing Big Pharma research groups that a new project from outside their company  is worthy of consideration.  This is called Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome and, when displayed by pharma, is characterized by skepticism of novel ideas, a focus on data gaps rather than an assessment of the data that exist, and an unwillingness to abandon internal projects even if corporate portfolio valuation standards favor the external project.  Read more

On the Sidelines

Posted by Rick Jones | Categories: ,

On the Sidelines

When I recently stepped down as CEO of a small biotech, it was the first time since kindergarten, about fifty years ago, when I was not on a schedule of some kind.  Although I keep up with trends through the usual channels of conferences, newsletters and conversations, my new perspective starting from scratch in search of my next opportunity has led me to ponder topics that are only now important to me.  These include the role of luck in achieving successful outcomes, the changing business of university tech transfer offices, and the forces impacting the pool of experienced entrepreneurs in biotech.  But today I want to concentrate on an issue raised by the unstoppable rush to embrace the virtual model in biotech—the role of generalist managers versus discipline specialists.  Read more