6 pryor running a biotech company

Running A Biotech Company

Kent E. Pryor, PhD, MBA

Lab to Launch – San Diego

Running A Biotech CompanyRunning A Biotech Company

• Every company is different, but certain basics remain the same– Legal–Money– People– Information Technology– Operations

• The question isn’t if you need the infrastructure—the question is how you develop it: internally, externally, or a hybrid

Running A Biotech Company

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Intellectual Property

• Business Formation– Corporation or LLC

• Financing Documents

• Licences and Other Contracts

• Confidentiality Agreements

Legal

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• You will need multiple lawyers who specialize in different things

• One of the first things you are likely to do is license IP from somewhere—use someone knowledgeable to help you negotiate

• Confidentiality is enormously more important than you are used to in academia

Legal

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Finance– Company

ownership– Debt / Obligations– Banking

• Accounting– Purchasing– Accounts Payable– Financial

Statements

• Payroll

Money

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Learn the basics of accounting and how to look at financial statements yourself—accounting is the language of business

• Do not become an accountant—rent or hire that expertise

• Corporations need to do taxes at year end; LLCs need to issue Forms K-1

• Your investors will not expect profits, but they will expect good cash management

Money

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Human Resources• Compensation

– Salary– Equity

• Benefits– 401(k)– Insurance

• Contractors and Consultants

• Managing Up and Down– Board of Directors– Employees

People

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Human resources policies grow over time, usually a little slower than you need them

• Think early about how to structure compensation—this may depend on how the company is organized and how you finance it

• Managing employees and dealing with investors and the Board of Directors are skills you probably did not learn in science grad school

People

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Email & Calendars

• Data Storage and Collaboration– Hard copy data– Digital storage

• Webpage• Computer

Hardware

Information Technology

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Cloud computing is fairly easy to set up, is scalable, and does not require you to purchase (and maintain) a server farm

• Buy a domain and set up email and calendars with a reputable provider for confidentiality and a professional appearance

• Do not forget you need policies to deal with paper: lab notebooks, signed contracts, etc.

Information Technology

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• Facilities—Offices, Labs, Capital Equipment– Real or Virtual?

• Business License• Environmental

Health & Safety• In-house vs.

Outsourcing– Academic labs– Contract labs

Operations

Lab to Launch – San Diego

• What types of people do I need internally?

• What types of capital equipment and facilities do I need internally?

• Where can I get the resources to fill in the blanks in my company?

• How much money will I need, and when?

The Big Questions

Lab to Launch – San Diego

Kent E. Pryor, PhD, MBA

Thank you!

Lab to Launch – San Diego