From Alchemy to Ipo: The Business of Biotechnology

by Cynthia Robbins-Roth

Publisher: Perseus Publishing
ISBN: 073820482X

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Amazon Reviews

Despite unnerving swings in individual stock valuations or perhaps because of them, many knowledgeable observers still believe the 21st century will ultimately earn its stripes as the Age of Biotech. Cynthia Robbins-Roth, named by Forbes magazine as one of the industry's top insiders, certainly is among them. And in From Alchemy to IPO, she persuasively argues investors better take heed because they ain't seen nothin' yet. "Most of us think of biotech as medicine or genetically engineered crops," writes Robbins-Roth. But in the very near future, she continues, it also "may make it possible for humans to reach the stars and to change the environment on other planets." Think that's far-fetched? She says developments like this are already in early stages and, in a deliberately proselytizing manner, traces their roots to the current business nitty-gritty, finally focusing on the long-term moneymaking potential. "The biotech world will never be an easy place for investors," she cautions, but with hundreds of ongoing projects "poised to power into the marketplace," there will be plenty of "opportunities for investors and employees alike." Recommended for readers seeking an informed tutorial on this field of the future.

From The Industry Standard

In the early 1980s, the biggest concern facing the biotech industry was collecting enough urine and placenta to conduct crucial genetic research. At one point Genentech researchers even joked about increasing their urine yield by laying sawdust on the floor at their weekly beer bashes. The technical challenges of the Internet industry pale in comparison - and so do the challenges to Internet investors.

So says Cynthia Robbins-Roth in From Alchemy to IPO, a fascinating, if somewhat dry, look at how the biotech industry grew from nothing to one of the most important business sectors in today's economy. Her retelling has important lessons both for biotech investors and Net investors, who can learn much from biotech's technology-driven boom-bust cycle.

The biotech sector first grabbed the attention of individual investors in 1980. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that genetically altered life could be patented, Genentech went public and closed at double its offering price of $35, and suddenly the marriage of technology and biology stepped out of science fiction novels and into doctors' offices and grocery stores. Just a few years later, though, impatient investors, who weren't able - or willing - to understand the often long and expensive process required to turn a test tube reaction into a viable drug, began dropping out of biotech stocks in droves. Today, Net investors will be comforted to know that biotech is again booming, as years of research finally yield concrete results.

As a biochemistry Ph.D, former researcher for Genentech and the founder of BioVenture Consulting, Robbins-Roth knows from whence she speaks. Steeped in technological details, her book can be a fascinating read for those enamored of hard science. However, as an investment guide, complete with stock tickers, dates of public offerings, partnering history and other minutiae, the book too often reads like a series of annual reports and would have benefited from the inclusion of far more case histories and stories.

Robbins-Roth also errs somewhat on the side of industry cheerleading at the expense of giving a complete portrait of the biotech investing environment. Early in the book, for example, she talks about the knockout process, in which researchers turn off certain genes to determine their function. Much of this research is done on organisms other than humans, often with disastrous results for the subject. We know from the reaction of consumers in today's marketplace that many people object to scientific testing on animals, yet Robbins-Roth skates by with nary a comment. Likewise, she barely touches on controversial subjects as timely as genetically altered food. To her, it seems, all discoveries in biotechnology are to the good.

The problem is, the human connection to biotech is far more complicated than that of simple innovation, and choosing to invest or not in a company is a complex problem, not only in terms of picking technological winners or losers, but also in making decisions about work that goes to our very essence. When one company finds a better drug delivery system for diabetics, or an experimental gene therapy for cancer patients, it affects, for better or worse, everyone.

The Net is only beginning to force investors to ask similar questions. Toward the end of the book, the author rhetorically asks whether one should invest in a cure for Alzheimer's or the latest online idea to deliver dog food. The cure gets Robbins-Roth's vote, but often as not in real life, it's the dogs who win out, at least in the short term. A less facile book might have helped us better understand why that is.

Book Description

A fascinating glimpse inside the life-and-death business of biotechnology.

• A tour-de-force for anyone who is interested in the biotech industry. I applaud the enormous achievement of Cynthia Robbins-Roth." - Frederick Frank, Senior Managing Director & Vice Chair, Lehman Brothers
• From Alchemy to IPO tells the dramatic story of this revolutionary industry as only an insider can." - George Rathmann, President and CEO, ICOS Corporation, Chairman Emeritus, Amgen

Written by a well-known industry insider, From Alchemy to IPO addresses the coming-of-age of biotech products and companies and traces the history of biotechnology from its early inception in the seventies to today's heyday of new solutions and breakthrough treatments. It describes the amazing entrepreneurial trail of product development, novel business models, and critical trials that eventually pave the way to market. This is the first book to accurately record the inner workings of an industry-biotechnology-that's on the verge of living up to its monumental promise to change the world as we know it.

About the Author

Cynthia Robbins-Roth, Ph.D., is the founder of BioVenture Consultants, which provides strategic planning and financial assessment to biotech start-ups, pharmaceutical companies, and venture-capital firms. Her biotech column appears regularly in Forbes magazine, and Forbes ASAP recently named her one of the top twenty-five biotech all-stars of 1999. She lives in San Mateo, California.

Customer Reviews

I'll be starting a biomedical engineering Ph.D. program in the fall and have read recently a few books on the biotech subject. This one gave the clearest picture of the biotech industries, the companies in them, how to manage and finance them, as well as how to recognize solid biotech companies for investing purposes. A quick and entertaining read for anyone interested in the business behind biotechnology.

to quote another user: "The author's expertise in science, finance, management strategy, and journalism..." the author can write decently and she may know about biotech (hard to judge for me not being a scientist)...BUT her knowledge about management strategy and finance is limited at best...that wouldn't be so bad if she were to stick to write about science...however, she thinks she knows about finance and strategy...who wants to read about strategy should stick with hamel, pralahad, porter etc., who wants to read about finance (valuation) should stick with copeland et al, and who wants to read about ipos should try articles by jay ritter.

Please tell me where I can revise my shipping address. I need to deliver this book to the below address in U.S.: Receipent: Dr. Leroy Hwang Address: 10500 Rockville Pike, m-21 Rockville MD 20852, U.S.A Tel No: 301-493-8885

For someone interested in investing in Biotech and wanting to do homework, this a great book to start with. I have read it twice.

I am a student planning on majoring in molecular biology, with the goal of getting into a biotechnology company. I thought that this book was going to have a little more technical information, but I found that it was mainly a book geared towards investors, not students, or scientists. It has a lot of interesting information on how companies start up, and stock info, but this book is definately not for a person who is mainly interested in the science.

I have stayed away from investing in drugs and biotechs for over 5 years. That is not my area of expertise. This book is great in being a teacher of biotech history and technology. It ties in biotech implications very well with drug development, agriculture, and other roles it will have in society. If you want to learn biotech for the fun of it or because you want to start investing in biotech/genomics, this is a must read. I have to warn you though, after reading this book, I have come to the conclusion that I will be buying a biotech fund instead of buying biotech companies. The book makes things seem to complex and unpredicatbale for picking individual companies for the long term investment prospects. They are just too many and their success is largely reliant on chance and luck. Even if you are a daytrader or swingtrader, by improving your knowledge of the biotech industry, you will improve your chances of making money when you know what the press releases are talking about.

Let me finish with why I did not rate this book a 5. The wording that the author chooses is sometimes unclear and downright annoying. There were at least 5 spots where I had to stop and ask myself. Am I just stupid for not understanding what the author is trying to say, or is this written in caveman English. I came to the conclusion that the unclear sentences were the fault of the author. I have read many business/investing books where the author writes concise and flowing text. This book was annoying to read at times because of Robbins-Roth's wordings.

after reading this book, i took an online biotech seminar at fool.com that suggested all subscribers to read this book... luckily i did and found the seminar to be more interesting than i had thought.

this book essentially gets you through the basics about biotech... from how a drug is discovered, tested, approved and marketed. you will learn about the industries various facets; financial, technical, biological etc.

highly rated and a wise choice indeed!

If you are an individual investor wanting to get a feel for the broad sweep of the biotechnology industry and the risks and rewards of biotechnology investing, this is an excellent book. Robbins Roth weaves together the history, science and business of biotechnology into a compelling narrative that both informs and entertains the reader. I found the survey of the different aspects of biotechnology - ranging from monoclonal antibodies and genomics to antisense, gene therapy and signal transduction - to be very enlightening. Also extremely useful was her overview of the drug development process and its speed bumps and brick walls. Biotechnology can deliver enormous gains to investors, but it is also a very risky proposition, a fact that Robbins Roth is at pains to emphasize. If I have a criticism, it is that her exposition of the science of biotechnology will leave the more curious reader wishing for more depth. But then again, this is not a book about the science of biotechnology; it is a book about investing in science-based companies. With regard to that goal, reading this book will make you a more informed investor.

This book is worth every dime and much more. Presents the latest twists and turns in biotech, including the early bonanza. Although every word is worth its place this is not heavy and booring at any time. Biotech is a field hard for 'outsiders' to grasp. After reading this book even a novice will feel at home and for the more wised it is just informative and above all also entertaining - qualities rarely found inside the same cover.