Developing and Building Talent for Tomorrow’s Life Sciences Industry
These are truly exciting times to be in the life sciences. Simultaneous revolutions in molecular biology, information technology and nanotechnology are enabling massive progress. Growth in our understanding of life–and what goes wrong in disease–opens the possibility of creating important new medicines and therapies. Current progress affects not only basic science but also the types of products and technologies that are emerging. The benefit in the maturation of the product pipeline in biotechnology is already evident. Over 200 products from biotechnology have been approved for human therapeutic use in the United States, almost all within the last few years. These products are being rewarded with widespread adoption and use. Hundreds of additional product candidates are in development, being evaluated for use in 150—200 different diseases! Much of the leadership for this great new wave of innovation is coming from California.
UCSD is critically important to the life science industry, especially in San Diego. It is a great engine of innovation and of company formation–some 40% of biotechs in the region are spinouts of UCSD. The university also plays a vital role in producing the highly trained and educated workforce that the industry requires.
Because the university must prepare people to lead the world as it will be decades from now, it is essential to think about the impact these great revolutions may have on skill sets that will be needed and the ones that we must build. In the fast-moving environment of the life sciences today, status quo will never be good enough. We must be ever vigilant for adjustments that need to be made to stay at the leading edge.
It will come as no surprise that life sciences are sizzling in San Diego! In 2003, there were an eye-popping 162,251 jobs in San Diego’s technology cluster, with almost a quarter of those in bioscience or biomedicine. These are the kinds of jobs that virtually every economic development organization is competing for.
In June 2004, the Milken Institute published a study which concluded that San Diego’s biotech and life science cluster was more robust than any other in the United States. San Diego ranked #1 in the Overall Composite score, #1 in R&D inputs, and #1 in Biotech Impact, a measure of the value of the biotechnology to the local economy. On Risk Capital, a measure of venture capital spending and the frequency of new startups, San Diego ranked #3. The weakest areas for San Diego were in Human Capital, ranked #4, and Biotech Workforce, #5. While San Diego’s rankings on the latter two measures are respectable, this nevertheless exposes the weaker side of the region’s cluster. Thus, these become areas requiring our attention. For a knowledge-based industry, the importance of human and intellectual capital cannot be underestimated. We must grow it, develop it, or be able to attract it. Capturing the value of strong R&D capacity requires conversion of ideas into tangible goods and services. A variety of other industry-specific skills are also required.
Our industry seems clearly poised to generate many new jobs. As we think about what it will take to fully develop the potential of the opportunities that lie before us, I believe that we will not only need MORE of the kinds of people we already have, but we will also need new kinds of talent, such as people who are trained in emerging disciplines, who are cross trained in multiple disciplines, and who can continue to push the leading edge of science. We need more people who can translate basic science into practical applications and technologies. We will continue to need entrepreneurs to establish new companies and people who can lead discovery and development organizations. But our forward integrating and maturing industry will also need new kinds of leaders–those who can lead integrated businesses with manufacturing, full commercial operations and international scope.
A careful look at the requirements for new graduates (both numbers and types) might be instructive, considering all levels and each major discipline to estimate whether there are “gaps.” We need to consider carefully whether any adjustments in curriculum are warranted and whether there should be strategies for strengthening or enlarging any programs.
Scientific background and training are highly beneficial, even necessary, for a variety of positions outside the laboratory, but that expertise must be coupled with additional skills. Program or project management, for example, requires team leadership, communication, and people skills. Business development or licensing is often very demanding in technical requirements, but also requires an understanding of legal, financial, and organizational issues. The commercialization of high-science products requires people who are trained in manufacturing processes and control, regulatory requirements, medical education, marketing and sales. CEO’s and other members of senior management teams need not only specific functional skills but also broad management skills. If the ultimate objective is not only to discover great new things but also to eventually enhance patient care, it takes all of these. Every discipline directly involved with the products requires knowledge of the associated science.
Our industry requires lifelong attention to skill development. It never stops! We have needs throughout our organizations for programs to keep skills current and to acquire new ones. Providing a comprehensive range of top notch programs for developing talent throughout our organizations is essential.
Finally, we must look very carefully at science and math education in our K-12 schools and do whatever may be necessary to strengthen it. The University of California has embarked on an important initiative called, “One Thousand Teachers, One Million Minds,” whose goal is to quadruple the number of qualified teachers that it graduates. We must have enough well-prepared, well-qualified teachers. They must be properly equipped and supported to be able to deliver top notch science education. We need to motivate and inspire more of our young people to excel in science. Community outreach programs could be important, not only in raising the level of public awareness of great, cutting- edge science and its promise but also in helping to attract more people into the disciplines.
It’s a multi-faceted issue that invites initiatives on many levels–but how gratifying to have such a magnificent position of strength to build from for such a noble cause!
Julia Brown has long service as an executive in the life science industry, currently with Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She is a Tech Coast Angel. She serves on the boards of several life science companies and research organizations. She is a trustee of the UCSD Foundation and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, UCSD Biological Sciences. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are those of Julia Brown, and do not necessarily reflect those of any of the organizations with which is she is affiliated. For more information, visit Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
Contributing Writer: Julia Brown
From BioSphere Magazine, Fall 2005 issue, page 7.