The Big Red Biotech Blog

Life Sci VC Reviews 2013 Deals

Here's some interesting commentary and facts about some of the early biotech structured deals in 2013 between Pharma and the small pre-clin stage biotechs.  The post is from Bruce Booth of Life Sci VC.

The upshot is that the deals look good so far.   All appear to be high science plays (two orphans), share risk and capability between partners, are capital efficient, were driven by interest in the program and have low asset bases, and could all return outsized downstream returns (albeit low probability for full pay-outs). 

The upfront return (IRR) on only one deal is particularly attractive. Questions now arise as to whether there will be more movement toward pre-clin type deals.  If so, will this shorten or lengthen the time to liquidity for drug discovery companies once the big pharma bureacracy takes over?

Posted by Bruce Lehr Mar 1st 2013.

India May Drop Compulsory Licenses Based On Price

Does it really matter?  It appears that India will no longer issue compulsory licenses to generic or biosimilar manufacturers to make a patented drug based solely on whether that patented drug's price is perceived to be too high.  Good news for the multi-nationals right?  They seem to think so.

India May Drop Compulsory Licenses Based On Price // Pharmalot.

Instead India has set up a new Committee to set pricing for patented drugs by comparing to prices negotiated between manufacturers and governments in US, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand.  The thought seems to be this comparison will lead to higher prices than what consumer advocates in India would like to see but less than what pharma companies would charge on their own, but woud still be acceptable to these same companies.

But....the Committee would take per capita gross national income (GNI) and purchasing power parity in these countries into account.  The ratio of GNI in comparison country/GNI in Indiawould be calculated and used to adjust the price of the medicine for India from that of the comparison country.  This adjusted price would also serve potentially as the starting point for future reductions.

Ok. No compulsory licensing. Yes to a Pricing Committee.  What if they price products lower that what pharma is expecting?  Are we back where we were?

Posted by Bruce Lehr Mar 1st 2013.

Baseball and New Drugs

I love baseball.  The actual game really and discussions around it.  I'm less into the statistics but they are a usual part of baseball discussions.  I'm even less into sabermetrics though I do acknowledge they provide another interesting way to look at the stats of the game and do have merit in potential decision making in the game.

So I was really happy to see this morning's Xconomy post that compared evaluating baseball with the evaluating a drug development pipeline.  I thought many of the analogis held up pretty well -- you'll have to read it and decide for yourself. But one thing is correct in my view, we should continue to strive to find the best metrics to look at the success of drug development and open our minds toward doing this and operating in a fashion different than our historic past.  It is well pas that time.

Posted by Bruce Lehr Mar 1st 2013.  

Smoky Mac N' Cheese. Yum! Yum!

Here's what you gonna need.

• 8 ounces dry macaroni
• 1/2 pound thick sliced apple wood smoked bacon
• 2 cups half and half
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white truffle butter
• 8 ounces smoked gouda, grated
• 1  teaspoon smoked paprika
• sea salt, as needed for cooking macaroni

To Cook:   

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly butter baking dish or dishes.  This recipe will make enough for 10 1/2 cup ramekins.
2. Line a large, shallow baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Place the bacon side-by-side on
   the baking pan.  Bake in oven until crispy, about 20 minutes for thick-cut bacon.  Remove from oven and place on several layers of paper towels to drain.  (Do not turn off oven!)  Chop bacon into smallish pieces and set aside.
3. Pour 8 cups of water into a 3-quart saucepot.  Salt water according to macaroni package.  Bring the salted water to a boil and carefully add the macaroni to the water.  Cook only until macaroni is at a slightly firm al dente (approximately seven minutes, but depending on the quality of the macaroni, cooking times may vary).  DO NOT over-cook the pasta.  It is necessary for the macaroni to be a bit undercooked because it is going to absorb additional liquid from the sauce.
4. Drain cooked macaroni in a strainer/colander and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process.  Drain well, then set aside while the sauce is prepared.
5. In a 3-quart saucepot, add the half and half (it's ok to use the same saucepot the macaroni was cooked in).  Whisk in the 2 tablespoons flour until smooth.  Add the white truffle butter and the smoked paprika to the half and half mixture.  Heat over medium or medium-low heat until hot and beginning to thicken, whisking constantly.
6. When the sauce is hot, stir in the cheese.  Continue to stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.  Turn off heat.  Reserve about 1/4 cup of the chopped bacon, set aside.  Stir the remaining bacon into the sauce.  Taste and add salt, if needed.
7. Fold the macaroni and the sauce together.  Pour macaroni into the ramekins or casserole dish.  To help catch potential spills, place baking dish or dishes on a baking pan.  Top with reserved bacon.
8. Bake for approximately 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the container, until hot and bubbly.  Serve immediately.

To Drink:  

Trenel Sanit-Veran 2010

Pale gold in color, this Saint-Veran offers up an intense and complex combination of white flowers, green apple, and ripe peach aromas.  The palate is soft on the entry with lemony apple flavors and a clean, crisp finish.

Saint-Veran is an appellation of dry white wines produced in the southern half of the Maconnais sub-region of Burgundy.  This clean and crisp 100% Chardonnay is a perfect compliment to the rich and creamy mac and cheese.

Recipe courtesy of Terri at That's Some Good Cookin' Blog.

Posted by Bruce Lehr Feb 28th 2013.

 

Ooooh! This isn't Good for US Manufacturing Economy

Here's a sobering report from Xconomy on a new study out of MIT.  In it, MIT researchers claim that US manufacturers (150 in study from diverse industries) hit problems when they go to scale operations at full commercial level.  This leads them to seek foreign investors and set up foreign facilities. Wave bye-bye to some good jobs.

That's not good and is why there is beginning to be more clamoring for manufacturing supports in the US (i.e. tax credits and the like).  It would be nice to have the manufacturing base remain strong (US is still No. 1) bu there is a trend toward moving to Asia and other sites abroad. We need to nip it.

Posted by Bruce Lehr Feb 28th 2013.

 

 

Innovation Lost

Here's the latest epistle from Innovate on Purpose on why innovation desires from the C suite are often lost in translation to the rest of the organization.  Some of the issues discussed include: conflict between near term sales/profitability goals and longer term innovation, prioritization conflicts around activities, and lack of innovation skills in the organization. 

The conclusion is that until the concept of innovation is firmly established and constantly communicated and resourced, it will be hard for firms to innovate consistently. Innovation is not a project but a corporate capability.

Posted by Bruce Lehr Feb 28th 2013.