Image courtesy of user leighty (Ryan Leighty) on Flickr

This spring San Diego downtown will be buzzing with scientific discussions as our city hosts a number of major scientific symposia.  We are excited to attend and soak in all the science that will be shared during these two months.  Our own Mary Canady will also be participating in a panel discussing on the triumphs and trials of Transitioning from Academia to Industry at the Annual meeting of the Biophysical Society on Tuesday, February 28, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.

We hope that you are planning on attending at least some of these events, and to help you plan your attendance, we outline below pertinent information about each conference:

*SDBN may host a tweetup if none will be planned by meeting organizers.  Stay tuned.

The spring will be exciting for science in San Diego, add our Google calendar to yours so you won’t miss out on any local events. We hope you can set aside some time to take advantage of the presence of these major conferences in our city, we’ll be posting updates if you can’t. Some of the conferences have free or reasonable exhibit hall passes, and we’ll also post after hours events on our Facebook page so you can do some networking.

Comprendia is giving free social media consultations for your life science business, contact us to schedule one while you’re in San Diego.

The first in our Virtual Biotech series, our July 19th event was a success.  Thanks to our participants – some of San Diego’s leading virtual drug discovery scientists and CROs – for sharing their valuable insights and advice for scientists managing or considering how to manage an outsourced drug discovery project.

We’ve compiled some of the key tips and highlights of the night including:

• What activities should you outsource?
• Finding the right CRO for your objectives
• Managing your CRO relationship successfully every time
• Virtual tools to help manage and build your CRO network
• Finding the funding and resources you need for your virtual drug discovery projects

What Activities Should You Outsource?

Our panelist Scott Struthers, Founder & CSO of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, summed up this topic with a simple, “…what you’re good at, you do in-house; what you can afford you do in-house.”

Struthers’ team looks to outsourcing when dealing with capital- or labor-intensive projects and this was the consensus among panel members.  By focusing on the activities your team does best, your efficiency and productivity are maximized – all else can be outsourced.

Finding a CRO to Become Part of Your R&D Network

Finding a CRO you can trust is critical.  Here are some tips and practices from our panelists for finding the perfect CRO for your project:

1. Seek recommendations from colleagues and friends.  Whether referrals are from scientists within your long-term network or a colleague in your current company, peer reviews are incredibly valuable for obvious reasons.  These recommendations can also help you distill your initial CRO options down to a few, making the search more manageable.
2. Leslie Hickle, VP Business Development at BioAtla, LLC, identified the following three key areas to consider when determining if a CRO will be a fit for your project:
   • Quality – Do they have referrals?
   • Cost – Are their services cost-effective for this project?
   • Speed – Do they deliver on time?

   Hickle also notes that you will need to clearly determine your own expectations for each of these categories so you can easily compare CROs.

3. Once a CRO is a fit, never, ever, ever – ever – let them go.  They are now part of your Virtual R&D Network.

Managing Successful CRO Relationships

While several elements comprise a successful strategy when managing a CRO, this statement truly sums up the hallmark characteristic of successful, long-term CRO relationships:

“…the really successful projects are the ones where we become like an extension of the project team, where we’re looked on as collaborators.”

- Panelist Diana Wetmore, Vice President of Business Development at Emerald BioStructures

Manage your CRO relationship as if it were another branch of your existing team. Speakers note that this extends to all areas of a project.  To successfully manage a CRO relationship, a strategy is required that consists of:

• Partnership – Viewing your CRO as a member of your team will optimize your project’s productivity and overall success; CROs will give you input and documentation to help you with your budget, your strategy, and many other areas of your project.
• Communication -
  • High frequency especially at the beginning of a project is important
  • Milestones and goals are clearly identified so no grey area exists
  • Virtual tools are extremely helpful throughout the entire project, and online video tools were identified as especially useful when establishing a new relationship
  • Problems or issues are communicated and handled as team
• Dedicated Management – A dedicated person who manages the virtual meeting and collaboration process is essential.  This person leads and organizes the virtual meeting space, including: communications, coordinating attendee schedules, managing the call itself, gathering and sharing any relevant documents, following up with attendees, tracking the project and managing online communication platforms for team
• Alignment – Be On the Same Page: To achieve success, both the CRO and the client need to be on the same page.  Know what you want and expect, and have the conversations early to establish the foundation for your relationship and ensure consistent successes.

Global or Local?

Resoundingly, the quality of the relationship, not where the CRO was located, seemed to be the most important ingredient.  However, here are some pros and cons of global vs. local CROs listed by our participants:

Best Virtual Tool to Help Manage Outsourcing

Participants appreciated the abundance of online tools and resources available to help build their global networks of outsourced R&D.  Useful tools included:

• Virtual meeting spaces – Online video and audio programs allow easy, inexpensive, and (most importantly) frequent communication.
• Virtual file-sharing spaces -  Sharing content quickly and securely helps to increase efficiency

How to Find Funding and Resources

Our participant, Jim Hauske, President and Founder of Sensor Pharma, notes four key questions that need to be answered to obtain funding, or the possibility of funding:

1. Who owns the company?
2. What is the therapeutic, or technology focus?
3. What, if anything, has been accomplished?
4. What is the IP estate?

And where to find that funding?

• VCs
• Pharma
• SBIR grants (Small Business Innovation Research) – low hurdle for startups
• Disease organizations
• Patient Advocacy groups
• High net worth individuals and their non-profit organizations
• Self funded
• Micro-funding (individuals, small private groups)

Resources: In addition to finding funding, resources are available for virtual drug discovery companies, such as San Diego Entrepreneur’s Exchange.  SDEE is a virtual incubator and social networking tool for San Diego startups.  This site allows scientist’s access to resources such as equipment and lab space and helps teams find other scientists with which to collaborate and potentially partner.

How are “risk sharing” deals really structured?

CROs can help to shoulder some of the risk involved with a project.  For example, Diana Wetmore explained that her CRO may determine the structure of a risk-sharing deal by assessing a project, then binning into one of three levels – low- , mid- , and high-risk projects.  Varying levels of commitment are proposed by the CRO, according to perceived probability of success.

In an extreme example of sharing the risk burden Richard Lin, moderator and President and CEO of Explora BioLabs, emphasized flexibility and creativity when assessing a risk-sharing deal.  He explained that his CRO performed an entire project for no fee, and received double the normal payment when the client achieved Phase I funding – a risk, but a clear win for both sides.

Bottom Line

You and your CRO are on the same team.  Utilize your network and online tools to find your CRO.  Then build a successful relationship by defining your expectations, communicating frequently, and including your CRO partner in all processes along the way.

We hope these tips and practices will help you to effectively manage your Drug Discovery outsourcing.

If all of your questions weren’t answered here, stay tuned for more in our Virtual Biotech series or leave a question or comment below.

Or, are you a CRO or virtual drug discovery scientist with some insights our community could use?  We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks to Our Virtual Drug Discovery Participants:

Jim Hauske, President and Founder,Sensor Pharma (Bio)

Virtual Drug Discovery panelists:

Leslie Hickle,VP, Business Development, BioAtla, LLC (LinkedIn)

Daniel Holsworth,Co-founder/Board of Directors, ODIN Therapeutics AS(LinkedIn)

Richard Lin (Moderator), President and CEO, Explora BioLabs (LinkedIn)

Ajay Madan, Senior Director of Development, Neurocrine Biosciences (LinkedIn)

Scott Struthers, Founder & CSO,Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (LinkedIn)

Diana Wetmore, Vice President of Business Development, Emerald BioStructures (Bio)

Changes in the drug discovery landscape have presented many tough challenges for our region, including downsizing for larger companies and a dearth of VC funding for startups. With these challenges come opportunities, however, because drug companies are hungry for drug candidates to fill their pipelines. Additionally, the abundance of drug discovery contract research organizations (CROs), the ability to manage them remotely, and the ability to find partners and tools more easily on the internet presents an interesting opportunity.

Our July 19th event is our first in a series of Virtual Biotech events this year, and we’ve brought together those who have successfully outsourced drug discovery programs as well as some of the CRO providers. We’ve asked them to discuss the ‘howtos’ of managing an outsourced drug discovery project, and we think they’ll have some great insights, both at a high level and in the day to day details of the processes. In this hands-on event, we’ll take questions from you beforehand so that the resulting presentation and discussions will benefit you the most, and we’re open to what we should cover in future events. In addition, at this event some of our CRO sponsors will be providing credit for services at the event so we’re hoping you go home with some great deals for your projects. Register here.

Sponsors

Our generous sponsors have provided the following promotions exclusive to event attendees, come for a chance to win!

Special Event Giveaways

1. Millipore: $500 credit for Select Services
2. Explora BioLabs: 1 free mouse or rat small molecule pharmacokinetic (PK) study free (worth ~$3500) per standard Explora 24 hr PK design protocol (including bioanalysis).
3. Imgenex: 2 additional compounds added to screen of potential inflammatory and TLR agonists or antagonists using IMGENEX TLR/NF-κB SEAPorter™ HEK 293 stable cell lines. $5,000 value.
4. BioTox Sciences: a free 3 day in-life Dog PK study, up to $4,500.00 in value (not including bioanalysis).
5. Emerald BioStructures: iPad! ($500 value)
6. GenScript: $500 off $3000 (or $1000 off $5000) service discount on non-molecular biology services.

If you want more details on the promotions, or have a promotion to offer to attendees, or want to sponsor contact us.

Event Details

Who: Biotechnology professionals in the greater San Diego area
What: San Diego Biotechnology Network July 19th Event:Virtual Biotech Part 1: How to Effectively Outsource a Drug Discovery Program
When: Tuesday, July 19th 2011, 5:30-9:00 p.m.
Where: Tango Del Rey, 3567 Del Rey Street, San Diego 92109 (Directions below)
Cost: $25 Standard/$20 Academic/$50 Recruiter, dinner provided, cash bar
Contact: http://sdbn.org/contact
For more information about the event: http://sdbn.org/july

Directions: From the North: South on Interstate 5, Exit Balboa Ave, Straight to 4th Traffic Light then left on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. From the South: North on Interstate 5, Exit Grand/ Garnet Ave, Straight to 3rd Traffic Light then right on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. Park on the street or in the structure just past (south of) Tango del Rey. DO NOT park in the Science Center lot.

The San Diego Biotechnology Network’s June 21st event will feature aTyr Pharma, with Board Member and CEO Jeffry Watkins (Bio) giving a talk titled “Innovation: Where is our Biology?” aTyr is developing therapeutics based on physiocrines, small proteins involved in signaling pathways for areas such hematology, immunology, and metabolism disorders. The company was founded based on research which originated at the Scripps Research Institute, and Watkins’ title indicates the company is reaching beyond in vitro drug discovery to focus on biological processes. It will be exciting to see the way this translational research is being carried out. Of course, there is always plenty of time for networking, register and join us June 21st!

Sponsors

Event Details

Who: Biotechnology professionals in the greater San Diego area
What: San Diego Biotechnology Network June 21st Event Featuring aTyr Pharma
When: Tuesday, June 21st 2011, 5:30-9:00 p.m.
Where: Tango Del Rey, 3567 Del Rey Street, San Diego 92109 (Directions below)
Cost: $25 Standard/$20 Academic/$50 Recruiter, dinner provided, cash bar
Contact: http://sdbn.org/contact
For more information about the event: http://sdbn.org/june

Directions: From the North: South on Interstate 5, Exit Balboa Ave, Straight to 4th Traffic Light then left on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. From the South: North on Interstate 5, Exit Grand/ Garnet Ave, Straight to 3rd Traffic Light then right on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. Park on the street or in the structure just past (south of) Tango del Rey. DO NOT park in the Science Center lot.

Through research, acquisitions, and mergers, Celgene has built a robust product portfolio and pipeline in hematology and oncology. This accomplishment is quite a feat in today’s environment, with pharma pipelines dwindling, and they are one of the top ten fastest growing biotech stocks. Celgene has more than 4,000 employees worldwide, with important work being carried out at their San Diego location. David Webb, Vice President, Research & San Diego Site Director (Bio) will give a presentation titled “Celgene’s Drug Discovery Engine in San Diego” at our April 19th event.

As always, there will be plenty of time for networking, and we plan to do our ‘Introduce a Colleague’ activity which was very popular a few months ago. Sign up and we look forward to seeing you April 19th!

Sponsors

Contact us if you’d like to sponsor this event.

Event Details

Who: Biotechnology professionals in the greater San Diego area
What: San Diego Biotechnology Network April 19th Event Featuring Celgene
When: Tuesday, April 19th 2011, 5:30-9:00 p.m.
Where: Tango Del Rey, 3567 Del Rey Street, San Diego 92109 (Directions below)
Cost: $25/$20 Academic, dinner provided, cash bar
Contact: http://sdbn.org/contact
For more information about the event: http://sdbn.org/april

Directions: From the North: South on Interstate 5, Exit Balboa Ave, Straight to 4th Traffic Light then left on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. From the South: North on Interstate 5, Exit Grand/ Garnet Ave, Straight to 3rd Traffic Light then right on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. Park on the street or in the structure just past (south of) Tango del Rey. DO NOT park in the Science Center lot.

Trius Therapeutics is a great local company which recently had an initial public offering (IPO), quite a feat in this economy. What is the secret to their success? They focus on antibacterials for life threatening applications, and have used a creative combination of licensing and funding to build a strong portfolio in that area. Working with bacterial proteins helps Trius to leverage structure-based drug design (SBDD) technologies to efficiently optimize lead compounds. Dr. John Finn, Trius’ Chief Scientific Officer (bio), will present a talk titled “Innovative Antibacterial Drugs by Design; The Trius Therapeutics Story,” and as always you’ll have plenty of time to talk with him and others from Trius. Register here.

Sponsors

Sponsorships are available and affordable, with a speaking option available, contact us!

Event Details

Who: Biotechnology professionals in the greater San Diego area
What: San Diego Biotechnology August Event Featuring Trius Therapeutics
When: Tuesday, October 26th, 5:30-9:00 p.m.
Where: Tango Del Rey, 3567 Del Rey Street, San Diego 92109 (Directions below)
Cost: $25/$20 Academic
Contact: http://sdbn.org/contact
For more information about the event: http://sdbn.org/october

Directions: From the North: South on Interstate 5, Exit Balboa Ave, Straight to 4th Traffic Light then left on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. From the South: North on Interstate 5, Exit Grand/ Garnet Ave, Straight to 3rd Traffic Light then right on Bunker Hill St. Building directly ahead 3 blks. Park on the street or in the structure just past (south of) Tango del Rey. DO NOT park in the Science Center lot.

We’re going to try something new for the San Diego Biotechnology Network in September. The folks at Halozyme have offered to start hosting events quarterly at their site in Sorrento Valley, and we’ll kick of the first event learning about their exciting science September 28th. They focus on therapeutics that work subcutaneously by targeting the extracellular matrix (the image is from a mural in their lobby) and have had lots of great news lately, so it will be nice to hear more. As always we’ll have plenty of time for networking in a casual atmosphere, and we’ll provide a light dinner. Hope to see you there, click here to register.

Sponsored by:

Event Details

Who: Biotechnology professionals in the greater San Diego area
What: San Diego Biotechnology August Event Hosted by Halozyme
When: Tuesday, September 28th, 5:30-9:00 p.m.
Where: Halozyme Therapeutics, 11404 Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, CA 92121 (Map)
Cost: $20/$15 Academic
Contact: http://sdbn.org/contact
For more information about the event: http://sdbn.org/september