Access

Business

Nature 440, 738-739 (6 April 2006) | doi:10.1038/440738a; Published online 5 April 2006

Open Innovation Challenges

naturejobs

Biologist aims to ease the pain for entrepreneurs

Top

Biotech start-ups face a struggle to survive. Virginia Gewin reports on an initiative that brings cash and experience together to improve their chances.

The road from invention to commercially successful company can be a rocky one — and biologist Leroy Hood has travelled it many times.Inventor of the automated DNA sequencer, Hood has helped to found 13 companies — including one of the world's top biotechnology firms, Amgen.