Show Me the Money

Say it. Yes, say it. Thank you. Now don’t fool yourself in believing that just because you dedicated your life to the pursuit of knowledge that money isn’t important. It most certainly is. You could not do those experiments if you didn’t have funds to purchase pricey reagents. And have you heard lately what it takes to get a drug to market…Just ask Kenneth Kaitin, the Director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. His staff does an analysis every few years and most recently estimated that the average cost of developing a new biotechnology product is $1.2 billion. Now that’s a lot of MONEY!!!

Now, think about if you are an entrepreneur who wants to break out and start your own company. What is a rational amount of seed money that might be necessary?  Or maybe you realize that the competition for funding is increasing and you just want to run your lab more efficiently…and make that money last a bit longer.

In this blog, I hope to introduce you to the world of bioscience business. From managing the finances of a lab to running a company, and all that exists in between. The biotech and pharmaceutical industry has been mentioned as an economic driver for the future of this country and many countries around the world. If you want to be a player in this game, I hope you tune in often and share your thoughts. We will be discussing the various careers available to the business-minded scientist. I’ll offer you tips to bolster your chances to land a job and stats to help you recognize what it demands. But remember, to be successful it must come from your own preparation, your passion, and an extensive network. And please, don’t just do it for the money. It may seem like a lot of zeros but you’ll need to work just as hard, if not harder, to be successful. And money doesn’t always bring happiness.

Look for new entries to my blog on the 14^th and 28^th of each month. I welcome your comments and look forward to lively discussions.