Unless you were riding on the Mars lander this May, you know that the largest earthquake ever to hit land shook the Sichuan province in China to its core on May 12. As I write this piece, about two weeks later, I am sitting stranded in the Chengdu airport, about an hour’s drive from Wenchuan, the epicenter of the quake. Well, it would be an hour if there were roads to get there, which there aren’t. What does all of this have to do with biomedtech? Not much really – other than we in the industry are very lucky. We have our health and some of us even a little wealth or at least a steady income, and we don’t worry too much about death from disasters. So maybe it’s time to give a little bit back to the less fortunate, and help China recover from this great disaster. More details... 

OK, this isn’t really about surfing – it’s about the investment climate in California life science. But there are some interesting parallel – and inverse – relationships to surfing. The Bay Area is famous for the gnarly Mavericks – one of the most awesome big wall surfing spots in the world, with waves as high as 60 feet at times. It is a do-or-die kind of ride, one that only a few are capable of attempting, let alone surviving. San Diego, on the other hand, has many more beaches and great places to catch waves, although they’re generally tamer.  How does this relate to life science investing? More details...

Our Executive Editor, Greg Scott, answers questions about the state of China biotech in interviews conducted by CCTV in Beijing, and Windhover Information in the US. He discusses the size of China biopharma, recent changes, new policy initiatives, outsourcing and he looks forward to predict the trends coming in the future.  More details... 

Things happen quickly in China. They’ve even coined a phrase for it – “China Speed.” In December 2007, some colleagues and I managed to stage an event we had been discussing for almost a year – the ChinaBio® Investor Forum. We wanted to bring together early stage biotechnology companies based or operating in China, with leading VCs from around the world in a first-class investor forum. Were we nuts? We had less than six weeks to pull together a major conference from scratch.  But, thanks to “China Speed” and a lot of help, we did it.  See how...

We all certainly have heard, and most of us have said, “This is a relationship business” when speaking of the life science industry. But have we really stopped to think about what it means in our particularly complex, multi-layered industry, with its diverse players and myriad relationships? More details...

We've heard that the SFDA will announce on October 1 that it intends to significantly reduce the time required to approve IND applications.  This should speed entry to clinical trials, and, ultimately, drug approvals.  A second rumor is that the U.S. FDA has told a company that is applying for U.S. IND using data generated only in China will be accepted.  More details...

It began in the Worst of Times. Three years ago, the biotech bubble had burst and we were well into the “nuclear winter” biotech VCs still speak of only in hushed voices. So what were we thinking when we had that first conversation at Kincaid’s about starting a new angel organization focused solely on early stage life science investments? More details...

Once again, I’m winging my way from Shanghai to the biotech haven of San Diego, and reading an article in BusinessWeek on the safety of the food and ingredient supply in the U.S. The authors generally assert that the FDA should be the primary point of responsibility to protect us, the consumer, from contaminated foods and ingredients. But, like everyone else, I've formed my own opinion.  More details...

I’m sitting on the plane winging my way back from Shanghai to Los Angeles, pondering what the future holds for the biotechnology industry in this rapidly changing world, and how America’s role as the current industry leader might change. There are those that believe that we will be in a battle-to-the-death with China for world power supremacy, but I prefer to think there will be a kindler and gentler solution to who prevails.  More details...