Ron Cohen, M.D. CEO, Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. Nature Biotechnology - Meet the Author May 6, 2009.

Ron Cohen, M.D.CEO, Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.

Nature Biotechnology - Meet the Author May 6, 2009

Copyright Ron Cohen. Not to be distributed without written consent

The Promise of Biotech


The Reality of Biotech


Inspiration


Bright Ideas Are Not Enough...


Have a Business Plan


Engage the Right People


Obtain Survival Gear

• Business plan • Savvy business and financial advisor(s)

– Board of Directors

• Corporate counsel• Scientific Advisory Board• Accessories

– Thick rubber soles– Thick skin


Find the Funding


The Funding Environment


A Funding Hierarchy

• Grants• Loans/Credit cards• Corporate partnerships• VCs

• “Low hanging fruit”• Friends & family• Parties interested in company’s

mission

• Men with attache cases and strange accents

Grants

• SBIR/STTR• ATP• Orphan Drug• NIH• DARPA• CRADA• State and local grant programs• Private foundations

Remember what you and your investor are facing


All financial sources have the same fear

.


A Visit to the VC


Typical VC Partnership

How to Ask for Funding


Due Diligence


Global Biotech IPOs

Year # IPOs $$ Raised2004 52 $2.60B2005 45 $1.90B2006 49 $2.00B 2007 51 $2.90B2008 6 $0.13B

1Q:09 0 $0.00B

Source: BioCentury


2008-09 Global Biotech IPOs


Global Biotech VC Investment

Year $$ Raised2004 $5.30B2005 $5.30B2006 $5.70B 2007 $6.7B2008 $5.40B

1Q:09 $1.40B

Source BioCentury


2008-09 Biotech VC Investment


Virtue #1: Perseverance

Q ui ckTi me™ and a Ci nepak decompressor are needed to see thi s pi cture.

Virtue #2: Patience


Virtue #3: Optimism


Optimism is Warranted

“In the short term, people tend to grossly overestimate what they can do…. in the long term, however, 25 years or greater I’d say, people underestimate what they can do.”

Leroy Hood


Resources• Publications: e.g., BioCentury/BioWorld Today

• Onlinesites-e.g., Bioentrepreneur (nature.com/bioent/index.html); Evelexa.com

• University tech transfer office• Friends & family contacts• Biotech industry organizations

– NYBA – BIO

• Biotech company staff• Executive recruiters• VC’s


Good Reading• Alternate Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower

– Cynthia Robbins-Roth, Ph.D.

• From Alchemy to IPO: The Business of Biotechnology– Cynthia Robbins-Roth, Ph.D.

• The Billion Dollar Molecule– Barry Werth

• Gene Dreams – Robert Teitelman

• Growing Pains: Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm– Eric G. Flamholtz, Yvonne Randle

Ron Cohen, M.D. CEO, Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. Nature Biotechnology - Meet the Author May 6, 2009.

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