Biotech companies - Ways to work more efficiently

Ernst & Young recently released their 24th annual report Beyond borders: global biotechnology report 2010, presenting, among other things, five guiding principles for biotech companies working in the new economy where funding is scarce and customers careful:

• Seizing funding opportunities. Companies need to broaden the search for capital to include nontraditional (and non-dilutive) sources of funding. Many will need to reset valuation expectations for today’s markets and take funding when it is available.
• Boosting capital efficiency. Companies will need to use scarce capital efficiently. This includes designing studies and trials to “fail faster,” prioritize pipeline assets and work with third parties to unleash operational efficiencies.
• Focusing on reimbursement. The end goal in product development is no longer marketing approval but payor acceptance. Companies need to invest early in pharmacoeconomic analysis to inform R&D decisions.
• Collaborating creatively. The report identifies several innovative partnering structures. Companies’ use of creative partnering approaches could free them from turbulent public markets and give them much-needed resources.
• Developing differentiating assets. There are fewer potential buyers and they are distracted and have fewer resources. To attract partners, biotech firms need to demonstrate what truly differentiates their products or platforms.

These guidelines come remarkably close to how Attana has always worked. We have strived to use our available capital where it will provide the most benefits; we have been cost efficient; we have started several collaborative projects with our customers to give them the product they need to create a win-win situation, and we have launched a product that truly stands out among our competitors. This product, the Attana Cell 200, is also what helps our customers work according to some of the guidelines above – it gives them valuable and biologically relevant information earlier in their research and thereby helps them to fail poor candidates faster and focus on the right ones instead, and also provides detailed information enabling better pharmacoeconomic analyses at earlier stages, saving both time and money.

Necessity is truly the mother of invention, and sometimes going through a rough patch brings forth all the innovation and creativity in a company, thereby building a foundation strong enough to ensure success when the road gets smooth again. We have managed to not only stand stronger in the recession, but also to provide our customers with business crucial information and thereby enhancing their own survivability and success.

Teodor Aastrup, Attana CEO

For a summary of the Ernst & Young report, please visit www.ey.com/US/en/Newsroom/News-releases/Biotech-industry-showing-resilience-despite-challenging-conditions