(Larger Image)
|
From Alchemy to IPO: The Business of Biotechnology
by Cynthia Robbins-roth
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Basic Books (2001-04)
ISBN: 073820482X
EAN: 9780738204826
Dewy Decimal #: 660.60681
Paperback: 272 pages
Edition: 1
Release Date: 2001-04-10
SKU: 08080137
Condition: Like New As issued n
Comments: Paperback. Like new condition with remainder mark on bottom edge. No creases to spine or cover. Very slight wear to cover. Near fine copy.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
A fascinating glimpse inside the life-and-death business of biotechnology. "A tour-de-force for anyone who is interested in the biotech industry. I applaud the enormous achievement of Cynthia Robbins-Roth." -Frederick Frank, Senior Managing Director & Vice Chair, Lehman Brothers "From Alchemy to IPO tells the dramatic story of this revolutionary industry as only an insider can." -George Rathmann, President and CEO, ICOS Corporation, Chairman Emeritus, Amgen Written by a well-known industry insider, From Alchemy to IPO addresses the coming-of-age of biotech products and companies and traces the history of biotechnology from its early inception in the seventies to today's heyday of new solutions and breakthrough treatments. It describes the amazing entrepreneurial trail of product development, novel business models, and critical trials that eventually pave the way to market. This is the first book to accurately record the inner workings of an industry-biotechnology-that's on the verge of living up to its monumental promise to change the world as we know it.
|
Amazon.com Review
Despite unnerving swings in individual stock valuations--or perhaps because of them--many knowledgeable observers still believe the 21st century will ultimately earn its stripes as the Age of Biotech. Cynthia Robbins-Roth, named by Forbes magazine as one of the industry's top insiders, certainly is among them. And in From Alchemy to IPO, she persuasively argues investors better take heed because they ain't seen nothin' yet. "Most of us think of biotech as medicine or genetically engineered crops," writes Robbins-Roth. But in the very near future, she continues, it also "may make it possible for humans to reach the stars and to change the environment on other planets." Think that's far-fetched? She says developments like this are already in early stages and, in a deliberately proselytizing manner, traces their roots to the current business nitty-gritty, finally focusing on the long-term moneymaking potential. "The biotech world will never be an easy place for investors," she cautions, but with hundreds of ongoing projects "poised to power into the marketplace," there will be plenty of "opportunities for investors and employees alike." Recommended for readers seeking an informed tutorial on this field of the future. --Howard Rothman
|
Customer Reviews
|
Good introductory text and overview of the industry
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-03-06
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I read From Alchemy to IPO for an MBA course on entrepreneurialism in the pharmaceutical industry. Given my background (undergraduate business, financial analyst role, limited in-depth scientific knowledge), I found this book to be a very useful and balanced guide to both the business and technical aspects of biotechnology.
Robbins-Roth includes enough information on initial public offerings (IPOs) and merger activity among biotech firms to warm the hearts of the most resolute business student, but the drug discovery and development process is also covered in sufficient detail to give the lay reader an understanding for the operational challenges faced by firms in this sector.
Add to this the competent yet necessarily superficial descriptions of more esoteric terms such as monoclonal antibodies and combinatorial chemistry, and you have a solid text that covers the industry and its ongoing challenges very well.
|
|
Brilliant Overview
Rating (4)
Date: 2004-05-31
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a great overview of the world of biotech. The author explains the science with clarity and enthusiasm and the introduction this book provides to the corporate side of biotech is also very interesting and well written.
|
|
bad writing
Rating  (2)
Date: 2004-01-15
I read the first 20 pages of this book and quit. It was too painful to keep going. The author's wording in convoluted, tangential, and just plain annoying. She throws out dozens of names from the industry, so many you can't keep them straight. There is poor flow to the writing, so you cannot understand why she is telling you things from one line to the next. The topics of each paragraph jump from one subject to another with abrupt, confusing transitions. I returned the book!
|
|
Clear and non hyped intro into biotech
Rating  (5)
Date: 2002-05-28
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'll be starting a biomedical engineering Ph.D. program in the fall and have read recently a few books on the biotech subject. This one gave the clearest picture of the biotech industries, the companies in them, how to manage and finance them, as well as how to recognize solid biotech companies for investing purposes. A quick and entertaining read for anyone interested in the business behind biotechnology.
|
|
WAY OVERRATED BOOK ON BIOTECH
Rating (2)
Date: 2001-08-25
13 out of 17 customers found this reveiw helpful
to quote another user: "The author's expertise in science, finance, management strategy, and journalism..." the author can write decently and she may know about biotech (hard to judge for me not being a scientist)...BUT her knowledge about management strategy and finance is limited at best...that wouldn't be so bad if she were to stick to write about science...however, she thinks she knows about finance and strategy...who wants to read about strategy should stick with hamel, pralahad, porter etc., who wants to read about finance (valuation) should stick with copeland et al, and who wants to read about ipos should try articles by jay ritter.
|
|
|