At what point in an industry's maturity does its reputation become cemented -- rock-hard and impervious to change? Biotech may be about to find out. As new gene therapies, bio-
engineered drugs, vaccines and diagnostics emerge from development, move to FDA approval and into markets, this start-up industry finally comes of age, delivering scientific
miracles long promised to investors.
Dolly the sheep, the human genome race, and the most recent debate over stem cell research have catapulted biotechnology, with all of its potential wonders and horrors, into
the consumer spotlight.
"Now more than ever, it is absolutely imperative that the industry be perceived as truthful and credible," says Dan Eramian, VP communications for the DC-based Biotechnology
Industry Organization (BIO), a trade association representing more than 1,000 biotech companies. "At the moment, we still have pretty much a good guy, white hat image," he says.
"But make a lot of promises for products that don't reach fruition, or let the science go somewhere people don't want it to go, and we'll lose that credibility. There are plenty
of other industries out there that are despised, and can't get that chance back."
Placing for Dollars
It wasn't long ago that communications strategies in the biotech sector were almost exclusively fixated on matters of funding. Now, however, the survival challenge has evolved
into assigning a human face and simplified lexicon to industry issues that many perceive to be cloaked in scientific rhetoric and secretly dedicated to churning out mutant
soldiers and square tomatoes.
"In a lot of cases, the media would rather glob onto tales of 'Frankenfoods' than tell the complicated story of what the science is all about," observes John Buchanan, a
communications executive with the San Francisco law firm, Heller Ehrman, which counts biotechnology among its practice specialties.
While venture capitalists and institutional investors continue to base their funding decisions largely on scientific ingenuity, intellectual property issues and marketability,
they also look for mainstream media coverage as evidence of a biotech venture's credibility, notes Buchanan, who previously handled marketing and business development for the life
sciences VC firm Burrill & Company.
Stem cell research, for example, has received more balanced press coverage than the media frenzy over cloning technology - particularly in light of testimonials from
celebrities (e.g., Michael J. Fox) about how the science might be applied to treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and juvenile diabetes.
But in many cases, the media's irresistible attraction to public unrest (tied with the pressure of the 24-hour news cycle and the quintessentially understaffed newsroom) still
makes outrage easier to cover than scientific innovation. And outrage borne of fear has a funny way of proliferating.
"Look at the golden rice they're trying to market in Asia that has beta carotene in it," notes Benjamin Rudolph, director of corporate communications for Aptagen, a Herndon,
Va.-based start-up specializing in DNA engineering. "I heard one scientist contend that if everyone in the world got their daily allowance of vitamin A, it would save more lives
than every antibiotic on the market. But the fact is, people still say, 'Rice isn't supposed to be orange. I can't eat that.'"
Building an Industry
For those who thrive on the occasional ulcer, the biotech sector is mushrooming with PR career opportunities. Of the more than 117 biotech drug products and vaccines now
approved by the FDA, 75% were approved in the last six years. More than 350 new drug products and vaccines are in clinical trials, targeting more than 200 diseases. As new
therapeutic products and services hit the marketplace in droves, PR-driven branding strategies are at a premium.
"If every biotech company tried to get a really talented internal PR person right now, there wouldn't be enough to go around," says Susan A. Noonan, president and COO of
Noonan/Russo, an agency specializing in biotech for 13 years. One reason, she says, is that the current landscape calls for a rare breed of communicator, equally expert in marcom,
IR and corporate communications. Another is that the biotech media environment is chaotic; few general assignment reporters covering the beat are fluent in science while few
biotech execs have been trained in reporter-ese.
Of the 1,283 biotech companies in the U.S., only 327 are publicly held, meaning most are still research-driven start-ups - with fewer than 75 employees - in dire need of
analyst, VC and investor relations support. The average biotech company is likely to experience financial crisis long before it encounters problems with its clinical trials,
notes Buchanan. Factor in, also, an industry making its public debut by becoming embroiled in some of the most politically, ethically and morally charged issues of our time.
"Companies will eventually need to look at reimbursement issues and how novel therapeutics will be priced and paid for," says Noonan. "If you have a better oncology drug, but
it's ten times more expensive, that will turn into a real debate among managed care organizations and the ultimate payers for these drugs." As new ethical issues arise in the
press, biotech companies will need PR people who are not only IR-savvy, but also comfortable navigating public affairs circles, she says.
Rudolph, for one, relishes the professional challenges Aptagen provides. "Biotech has exploded in the past couple years, and what I love is that there are no set rules or PR
protocols. It's a blank canvas. You have all these tools and this science that you can use to paint a picture for everybody. It's up to you to figure out how."
(Dan Eramian, BIO, 202/857-0244; John Buchanan, Heller Ehrman, 415/772-6715; Benjamin Rudolph, Aptagen, 703/793-8000; Susan Noonan, Noonan/Russo, 212/696-4455)
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Top Five Biotech Markets
|
|
| New England |
182
|
| San Francisco Bay Area |
176
|
| San Diego |
120
|
| Mid-Atlantic |
101
|
| North Carolina |
86
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| Source: Ernst & Young LLP, Biotechnology Industry Report: Convergence 2000 |
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Biotech Growth
- Market capitalization for the biotech industry increased 156% from 1999 to 2000 (from $137.9 billion to $353.5 billion).
- Biotech industry revenues more than doubled from 1993 to 2000, with revenues increasing from $8 billion to $22.3 billion.
- The U.S. biotech industry spent $10.7 billion on research and development in 2000.
Source: BIO (http://www.bio.org)