Biotech - The Impossible Dream?
In their Key Areas for Discussion in the living case for Bioalvo they raised the question - Is it possible to start a biotech company from scratch with no IP and no technology? more specifically what is the environment in general and specifically in Portugal? - To start the discussion I would like to say that this is a critical question that is not asked often enough by those pondering the startup of a Biotech company even when they DO have a technology and IP. The environment in the US for starting a new pharmaceutical, medical device, over-the-counter and/or support products company makes this one of the toughest industries to enter - period. And this is not just due to the regulatory issues - it is also one of the most competitive and crowded industries. So the question then becomes an examination of the new company’s overall strategy - strength - team - and also product. But it could be argued that the product - IP or technology - may be the least important of these. Obviously, it does not mean it is not critical.
Please comment and post your views - Tom Gardner
I agree the key issue is not the IP or technology, therefore you can start a company without having any of these. The disadvantage is that it would even take you some more years and consequently euros or ; the advantage is the you would, in principle, base it in an technology /IP adequate to market needs.
I guess it is true that management is key but sometimes, specially in harder times and landscapes (I consider PT a hard landscape for biotech) that is not enough you also need to be strong in other areas.
I agree Luis, the more I see and understand about the PT business landscape the more I believe it is a greater obstacle than in the US, but I feel it is important to note that the landscape in the US was extremely difficult in the 1960’s - 1980’s as the larger Pharma players dominated the industry even more so than they do now. This changed because of many reasons - the most important being, in my opinion - the government looked at how to assist smaller companies in an increasingly harsh regulatory landscape. So this would lead me to believe that PT could provide the same assistance. The question then becomes can PT’s private sector provide the financing and the support to create the PT’s equivalent of Genentech, Eli-Lilly or Alcon.