Nature Biotechnology
18, IT1 (2000)
doi:10.1038/80039
Keeping track of the trendsAndrew MarshallKurt Vonnegut once said "Life happens too fast for you ever to think
about it." A trained biochemist, Vonnegut could have been talking not
about life but about the life sciences. In both cases, there is plenty of
information. The difficulty is making sense of it.
Keeping track of biotechnology, in all its different guises, is a daunting
task. The scope and speed of "biotechnology research" constantly
expands. It is difficult to keep abreast of one's own field of interest
or even, sometimes, to define what that field is. And what of the other guy
(where both "other" and "guy" are used in their broadest
senses). What can work in disciplines distant to your own achieve? How much
is principle and how much is already reduced to practice? And how are those
innovative practices rendered as businesses that can attract sufficient capital
to thrive. Everyone will tell you that many, if not most of future important
advances in life sciences will depend on integrated contributions from many
different fields. Knowing something about what "the other guy"
is doing and could do would seem to be a key part of being able to function
effectively in biotechnology.
This supplement is a window onto the "other guy" at work, a
companion for adventurers into other biotechnological worlds. It brings together
18 of the 37 "Industry Trends" articles that have been published
in Nature Biotechnology since 1997. Each article—on subjects
as diverse as arthritis and data mining, tissue engineering and biochips—describes
where a field has been, where it is, where it is heading, and how it is being
commercialized. In addition to the 18 selected articles, two new pieces have
been added, one on asthma and the other on corporate intelligence methods.
Stelios Papadopoulos, managing director of SG Cowen, NY, has provided a commentary
on business models in biotechnology. The supplement has three sections: Business,
Diseases, and Technologies. As befits a science journal such as Nature
Biotechnology, "Technologies" is by far the largest.
Any snapshot of a technology fades and quickly becomes dog-eared, especially
in rapidly moving areas. Recognizing the limitations of the static printed
word, all of the articles here have been updated over recent weeks. Comparision
with the original articles clearly demonstrates just how fast certain technologies
have moved since the original articles were published. Commercial aspects
of biotechnology change, too. The completely integrated "life science
company" is no more; there is now more than one deal in pharmacogenomics,
and many more than two companies competing in the biochip field.
The "Industry Trends" column, which represents the genesis
of this supplement, owes a great deal to the energies and enterprise of Aris
Persidis. When Nature Biotechnology first approached him over three
years ago, the brief was to provide objective information on rapidly emerging
research areas. Aris rose to the task then, and continues to rise now.
Nature Biotechnology intends to continue the series in the future, supplemented
with web-enhanced material that provides additional resources and information
on the companies mentioned.
Readily-accessible single-source information on biotechnology is abundant—in
company statements, press releases, science papers, on rumor mills. The sheer
profusion of it can be overpowering and noisome. The articles here speak with
a clear, quiet, and confidence voice, a voice that enables you to hear the
signal above the noise.
|
