Science Business: The Promise, the Reality, and the Future of Biotech |  | Author: Gary P. Pisano
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
List Price: $29.95
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Seller: rho25
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 223697
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 237
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1591398401
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.476606
EAN: 9781591398400
ASIN: 1591398401
Publication Date: November 14, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Why has the biotechnology industry failed to perform up to expectationsdespite all its promise? In Science Business, Gary P. Pisano answers this question by providing an incisive critique of the industry. Pisano not only reveals the underlying causes of biotechs problems; he offers the most sophisticated analysis yet on how the industry works. And he provides clear prescriptions for companies, investors, and policymakers seeking ways to improve the industrys performance. According to Pisano, the biotech industrys problems stem from its special character as a science-based business. This character poses three unique business challenges: 1) how to finance highly risky investments under profound uncertainty and long time horizons for R&D, 2) how to learn rapidly enough to keep pace with advances in drug science knowledge, and 3) how to integrate capabilities across a broad spectrum of scientific and technological knowledge bases. The key to fixing the industry? Business models, organizational structures, and financing arrangements that place greater emphasis on integration and long-term learning over shorter-term "monetization" of intellectual property. Pisano maintains that all industry playersbiotech firms, investors, universities, pharmaceutical companies, government regulatorscan play a role in righting the industry. The payoff? Valuable improvements in health care, and a shinier future for human well-being.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 Science Business February 13, 2009
S. Hwang
0 out of 12 found this review helpful
I haven't got this product.
I've also sent an email to the seller, but s/he haven't response it yet.
I would like to refund it.
 stale and insular January 25, 2009
kerrjac
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book begins with the insight that good science is different from good business. Beyond this, I found the rest of the book kind of stale.
The author extensively discusses the idiosyncrasies of the biotech industry. He talks about the great amount of capital and trail-and-error required in drug development, supposedly with the intention of arguing that biotech is different from other sectors. However, I kept thinking, "But of course biotech is different from other sectors, it's a different sector." What this book lacked, I thought, were more comparisons and similarities between other areas of business. While biotech is the only industry that actively seeks drugs that hit molecular targets, it's not the only industry that heavily progresses through research and development. I was surprised that the author didn't tap the extensive history of R&D in other private sectors. After all, there's an array of specific examples to choose from, be it the microprocessor chip wars or the development of hybrid cars. Using lessons from those endeavors, and connecting them to biotech, I thought, could've been pretty novel.
Instead, the author rarely pulls insights from outside of the biotech industry, while maintaining that biotech is new, not fully developed, and can learn a lot from business. As such, the book has a very insular feel and seems very limited in scope.
 A solid introduction to Biotech from a business perspective July 26, 2007
Mike Sweeny (California)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found this book to be well-researched, current, and insightful. If you're at all interested in the biotech business, especially in starting a company or investing, read this book first. Pisano's narrative really helps one understand the foundations of the biotech industry, and sheds some light on what does, and doesn't, work within that industry. The fact that it's off the Harvard Business School Press gives it additional credibility, which is well deserved. A wealth of references, as well as a listing of the companies listed in the study, give the reader both a sense of the research that went into the book and a start on the search for more resources on the subject.
Extrememly lucid, well thought out analysis May 17, 2007
Jeff (Northern California)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
For my money, most business school professors write with a detached, dry atmosphere about business topics.
Not Gary Pisano!
He has a strong point of view that the ecosystem for biotech is not working well. His observations about why are right to the point and convincing.
His prescriptions are well worth considering.
If you're new to biotech, this is a great book to start out with. I would then proceed to Building Biotechnology, which is also a fine book.
Not what I expected May 2, 2007
Seth Maier (San Jose, CA USA)
3 out of 21 found this review helpful
I don't know what I expected from this book, except for some new insights on how to invest in the biotech industry. I was extremely disappointed to find a whiney critique of biotech companies that take enormous risks in discovering new life-saving or life-improving chemicals, and oftentimes crash and burn in the process. Well, that's capitalism, for ya'! Would the author prefer a centrally run system in which lazy bureaucrats barely advance scientific discovery? It all comes back to risk and reward. This book is the updated version of complaints about Silicon Valley, and the dot-com bust. OK, the technology business may not be profitable as a whole, but the efforts of millions of people in the pursuit of the big payoff has created great advances and has improved lives in making people more efficient, more educated, and less carbon-intensive.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
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