8th Annual Biorepositories and Sample Management Summit: Summer Sale!

From now until Saturday, July 4th we’re celebrating America’s birthday with blowout summer savings. You can save an additional $100 off of current rates for IIR’s Biorepositories and Sample Management Summit* with code SummerSaleBL. Revolutionize your business model and fine-tune your preservation procedures at the most interactive biobanking community event of the year! Learn more about the event here.

*Discounts cannot be applied retroactively. All registrations are subject to IIR approval.

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Conscious Commercialization and Agile Biobanking

A Three Part Series in Biobank Business Planning
By Lisa B Miranda, President and Chief Executive Officer, Biobusiness Consulting Incorporated
 
Part I:

Forward-looking market statements tout biobanking as a burgeoning and bountiful global market. For example, the company Vision Gain published in September 2014 that “the biobank world market will reach $22.7 billion in 2018.  In particular, rising demand for biobanked samples for use by pharmaceutical companies in preclinical research stimulates that market.” Despite the potential business opportunity for biobank growth and market expansion, economic viability remains a prevalent pressing issue for biobanks globally.  

So, why aren’t all biobanks thriving if the market earning potential is there? Well, that is a longer conversation. However, the short answer, based on my expertise, is that the biobanks who are thriving are doing so because they are readily implementing key business success factors into daily practice.   

Based on a review of sustainability case studies I conducted last fall, the first of these critical success factors is the recognition that sustainability is a legitimate imminent financial concern. No one is immune. Longevity is not necessarily an indicator of sustainability. It’s not unreasonable to say this because in today’s economic climate, we observe both notable well established as well as new biobanks dealing with sustainability issues. As John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."  

Once you recognize that sustainability is crucial, time is off the essence. Proactive strategic planning is imperative and should follow the same logic as beginning your retirement planning: it’s never too early. The sooner you make a financial roadmap, the better. 

In fact, in some cases new biobanks may be able to be more agile and adaptive in this regard, since their business model and infrastructure may not be predetermined and thereby malleable. This is particularly true for implementation of a cost recovery model.  As many Biobank Directors will convey it can be problematic to successfully recover costs for a sample, product and/or service if it was historically provided free of charge. It also can be more difficult to identify and understand cost components later. In an economic survey of over 100 biobanks last year conducted for a client we found this to be true. Web based applications (e.g. US NIH/NCI BBRB biobank economic modeling tool (the BEMT) and CTRNET user fee calculator) can be useful tools for positive steps towards developing an informed model for cost recovery. 

Driving culture change around financial planning can be crucially expedited by securing organizational support and commitment to devote resources towards evaluating the need to do things more sustainably. This can often be a catch-22 situation however as one often needs to show a reasonable business plan, market value and/or a path to impact to garner unwavering support. The work is worth it though as biobanks with organizations that support a culture of change towards cost recovery and sustainable development typically experience compounded success in this area. 

I can relay happily that this is a valid observation from my past life as a Core Facility Director.  I also see this frequently firsthand with the organizations I work with, both public and private.  These issues are not necessarily sector-specific - they merely present differently. My first attempt at a business plan in Academia for my bioresource required a second revision, but it was well worth the time. And looking back dozens of business plans later, I try to use those lessons learned with clients in real time. And as Mark Sanborn so wisely said, "Your success in life isn't based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business."  

Tune in June 30th for part two of the series when we discuss how  “conscious commercialization” is another critical factor for success in business planning.

About the Author:
Lisa Miranda is President & Chief Executive Officer of Biobusiness Consulting Incorporated, a biobanking and biotechnology commercialization advisory with global reach based in the Greater Boston Area. She has 25 years of experience, complimented with 14 years of higher education including nine years of graduate study at the University of Pennsylvania. She began her career in clinical care and community based research and then moved to clinical and epidemiology research. She spent over 14 years in research at the University of Pennsylvania conducting clinical and investigator initiated trials to bring new drugs and clinical therapies to market, testing and helping develop emerging medical/surgical technologies, diagnostic devices and evaluating novel biotechniques. In 2005 she launched and directed her first core facility a biospecimen resource for UPENN called TTAB. Recruited for her first consulting job in 2007 as a contractor for the United States National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute’s Biorepositories and Biospecimens Research Branch (BBRB), she expanded her consulting practice full time in 2008. Known worldwide as a biobanking and clinical research subject matter expert, much of her work focuses on biobank business planning, strategic development of biospecimen research applications and biotechnology commercialization. Prior biobanking and biotechnology commercialization. Executive positions have included Vice President, Strategy and Business Development for MEMS based Biotechnology Company Bluechiip, Vice President, Strategic Alliances and International Biobank Relations, Trans-Hit Biomarkers, and Technical Director, Tumor Tissue and Biospecimen Bank Core Facility, UPENN). For more information email Lisa: lisabmiranda@biobusinessconsulting.com or download her 2014 podcast on the future of biobanking.

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Single-Use Tech: Four Facts to Impress Your Colleagues

This post was authored by Mike Madarasz of the Institute for International Research.  You can follow him on Twitter at @MikeMadarasz

The verdict is on the environmental effects of single-use technology in comparison to stainless steel.  We now have a good grasp on this topic and all signs point to single-use systems impacting the surrounding environment to a much lesser extent than re-useable technologies.  BioProcess International recently took a close look at some of the sustainability issues associated with single-use processes.  Here are four facts you can use to impress your colleagues the next time this conversation comes up:

·       -  A single-use technology facility uses about 50% less energy than one based in stainless steel.  This is largely due to the amount of energy required to heat processed water in sterilizing reusable equipment. 

·      -  Some studies suggest that adopting a single-use system results in a reduction of about 85% of both water usage and waste generation from that of stainless steel.

·      -  One study shows that energy demand and global warming potential with single-use systems is 30-35% lower than stainless steel systems over the full manufacturing life of the facility.

·      -  As far the different types of environmental impacts associated with single-use, 22 different categories have been identified. 

How can single-use technology become improve on its environmental impact? One idea is to reduce the impact of disposable plastic containers used in these processes. The most common solution there appears to be finding ways to repurpose and recycle that plastic rather than letting it amount to waste.

Any other ideas on improving sustainability?

You can check out the full article from BPI here.

We’ve got much more on single-use systems. Check out Single-UseApplications for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing. June 9-10, Boston MA

Register now and SAVE 20%. Use code XB14187BLOG

Follow us on Twitter @FutureBioPharma

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A look at the Green Pharma Summit

The Green Pharma Sumit LinkedIn newsletter came out this week. Click here to read it. If you haven't joined our LinkedIn Green Pharma Summit Group, join today. You'll receive more updates and network with others who strive to make Pharma a more sustainable and eco-friendly industry.

If you were unable to attend the Green Pharma Summit, we have notes on the discussions during event’s roundtables, networking breaks and panels focusing on Pharma’s opportunities, challenges and actions going forwards. See what they discussed here:
http://bit.ly/GPPres

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Sustainable Syntheses

Ann M. Thayer of Chemical and Engineering News reports that pharmaceutical and fine chemicals manufacturers will see benefits if they begin developing greener processes. According to her article, "Process chemistry and green chemistry have common goals: generating less waste and emissions, minimizing material and energy use, and operating more safely under more benign conditions. Greater attention to reagent, solvent, and reaction choices by these chemists is making process development even greener."

By sharing their knowledge of green practices with pharmaceutical industry, pharma may learn new processes that could save more than just a few dollars.

Sustainable Syntheses



The Green Pharma Summit is about how Pharma is going green. Pharmaceutical companies are discovering that going green is not just for altruistic reasons, but that going green actually has benefits to the bottom line. Going green saves and makes money. If you'd like to network with other professionals who are working in the Green Pharma field, join our Green Pharma LinkedIn Group!

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What are companies doing to make Pharma greener?

The pharmaceutical sector is working hard to adopt more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices that offer measurable improvements without sacrificing the bottom-line. As more and more environmental health and sustainability professionals turn their attention to green initiatives, the c-suite is looking to these programs to deliver measurable value with quantifiable impact.

At the Green Pharma Summit, learn how…
* Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline adopted successful greening strategies to engage all departments
* Pfizer implemented a company-wide Green Chemistry Team to substantially reduce waste throughout their manufacturing and chemical development processes
* Allergan earned the US EPA Energy Star® Partner of the Year Award by implementing Green R&D and manufacturing practices for energy efficiencies and cost savings
* Schering-Plough influences smart solvent and reagent choices by implementing solvent selection guides to encourage Green decisions from the start

To network with other professionals in the Green Pharma field, we invite you to join our LinkedIn group here.

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Pharma's pressure to be socially responsible

Future Pharmaceutical recently wrote a article on the variety of ways that Pharma companies are choosing to both protect the environment and show their involvement in both humanitarian and environmental projects. Some of the companies in the article have started using green vehicles for distribution and transportation. Others have made efforts to make meetings greener and another option is to choose sustainable suppliers and sustainable distribution centers.

If you're interested in joining a community of Pharma professionals who are committed to make their Pharma projects that protect the enviornment and are sustainable, join us at the Green Pharma LinkedIn group.

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