There are two groups in biopharma today: those who "get" tech transfer and those who don't. For those in the first group, technology transfer is a mature discipline that follows a structured approach, with predictable outcomes. For those in the other, tech transfer is a perennially new frontier with surprises at every turn.
There seems to be a pattern in biotechnology of people who don't "get it". We all study science but we don't all see the structures that lead to real progress. Most work is begun at the top levels. The executives present the board with ideas for research projects. Drug targets like TNF alpha and Amyloid beta are popular due to the massive profits that can be made off of people growing old and falling apart. TNF alpha is a molecule targeted by several products already on the market. It can be prescribed for aches and pains as well as for cancer. Amyloid beta is the protein found in plaques that form in alzheimer's patients. Executives and board members keep thinking that a molecule can be found that will bind to a certain region of the protein and prevent the plaques from forming. A simple minded approach to a complex problem. Once the executives have made their decisions it's handed off to the next level down, the scientists.
The scientists read up on the literature and go off into the perennially new frontier with surprises at every turn. Junior personnel without PHds generally do the laboratory work and end up taking the brunt of the criticism for ideas that don't pan out. This leads me to the second epiphany I had in 2010.
The Handbook of Process Chromatography is a manual that describes ways in which to develop purification methods. It depicts methods for developing methods. It occurred to me that there is no such book for conducting scientific research. As Feynman said, we assume that we are teaching people how to arrange things so that they get some
wealth in their system. The Handbook does just that. It teaches people how to arrange their process development efforts so that they can get work done as quickly as possible. Each company should have a handbook that describes their process for developing drugs. But there isn't one. They call it creative minds at work. But that is where process chromatography was 40 years ago. They showed up and winged it. Somewhere along the way a small percentage of forward thinkers make progress and set up systems. We have yet to articulate the system of translating ideas from the boardroom to the market.
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