Today’s innovation begins with an idea, or a patient with an unmet need, or the resources and preparation that create an opportunity – sometimes all three. For our recent live taping of the ‘Is Business Broken?’ podcast as part of the WBUR Festival, Boston University President Melissa Gilliam; MassBio CEO, Kendalle Burlin O’Connell; and Vistria Director of Health Policy, Elizabeth Jurinka sat down with moderator Curt Nickisch to talk about the innovation economy.
Unlike the story behind Alexander Graham Bell’s invention, today’s inventors rarely work alone. Collaboration amongst students, faculty, government, investors, and companies is what creates innovation. In biotech, Massachusetts has been particularly successful in building an ecosystem that other states want to replicate.
All three panelists acknowledged the challenge of the long timeline to turn ideas into products that can actually help people. Biotech in particular is risky – O’Connell said that 90% of companies fail and costs are high. And yet, Gilliam noted, we are at one of the most amazing moments in medical, health, and other areas of innovation: gene editing, immunotherapy, AI. It is also a moment of disruption, and universities need to do a better job of explaining why they work the way they do and how they can better relate to people and their everyday lives. Jurinka pointed out that the need to ensure – and show – that money is being invested in something that will grow in value is key. Value to both investors and consumers is important.
Both Jurinka and O’Connell agreed that government still needs to be funding early-stage, foundational research. According to O’Connell, biotechnology is a national security priority and Jurinka noted that state pensions don’t want to invest in something with a 90% fail rate. But right now, we’re being outpaced by China in drug development, so every stakeholder needs to think critically. Gilliam added that phase 1 and 2 clinical trials are the heart of the life sciences economy in Massachusetts and when those trials are outsourced to China, we all lose out. O’Connell pointed out that patients also lose out when clinical trials are run outside the United States because it means that Americans no longer get first access to the therapy developed.
These ideas and more were discussed by our panelists. You can watch the recording of the discussion here.
