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Managing change in biotech: startup and growth

Nature Biotechnology volume 25, pages 479–480 (2007)Cite this article

Inside tips on how managers can deal with staffing challenges in a growing biotechnology company.

Like all businesses, life science companies face the trying challenges of accessing sufficient capital, wisely allocating constrained resources, developing and executing beneficially designed collaborations and partnerships, demonstrating the courage to make difficult, sometimes complex, go/no-go decisions, making appropriate risk assessment and effectively managing assets. Today, with over 100 biotech products on the market and sales of the top 24 such products reaching $1 billion in 2006 (ref. 1), the dynamic changes that life science companies experience on the way to product success are, at once, essential and unnerving. Priorities change; goals and objectives are revised often; new skills and talent are required in the transition from discovery research to product development and beyond; some existing roles and responsibilities narrow, others broaden; infrastructure strengthens; and resources are regularly reallocated. This article is the first in a series on managing people changes in life science companies; future segments will focus on dealing with changes brought about by mergers and acquisitions and the effects of adverse events such as product failures.

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References

  1. Edwards, M. Deal valuations in 2006: is this a bubble market? Recombinant Capital presentation at Licensing Executives Society 2007 Winter Meeting, San Francisco, California, USA, 22 February 2007.

  2. Bridges, W. Transition as 'the way through'. Organ. Transition 14(3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mary Ann Rafferty currently heads a leadership development consulting practice working with companies in the biotechnology industry. maryannrafferty@comcast.net,

    Mary Ann Rafferty

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  1. Mary Ann Rafferty
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Rafferty, M. Managing change in biotech: startup and growth. Nat Biotechnol 25, 479–480 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0407-479

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0407-479

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