2. learn about biotech
“The tools for learning are abundant. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce.”
curiosity
Elon Musk read a bunch of books then started SpaceX. Reading works: Intellectual Curiosity, Why Curiosity Matter, Curiosity is as Important as Intelligence
news
Stay up to date on industry news and trends. Subscribe to email newsletters and following publications on Twitter. Take advantage of Gmail’s filters to organize incoming newsletters into a single folder for easy reading (instructions).
Endpoints News, Forbes Healthcare, In the Pipeline, LifeSciVC, Life Science Leader, Nature Biotechnology, Regulatory Focus, Rock Health Weekly, Stat News, Xconomy
venture capital
VC firms are the forefront of innovation in biotechnology. Pay attention to their investments and portfolios to understand trends in biotech.
Follow users who tweet about biotech. These are a few users to get you started…
@endpts, @statnews, @MarcoBiotech, @FlagshipPioneer, @PolarisVC, @NatureBiotech, @broadinstitute, @atlasventure, @pharmalot
@DrMRosenblatt, @MichaelDocktor, @WilliamGerber1, @VCAmir, @JacobPlieth, @CarolineYLChen, @KevinBitterman, @RebeccaDRobbins, @eric_lander, @AMahadevia, @JonathanHirsch, @fderubertis, @gautamkollu, @LifeSciVC, @ksbosley, @geochurch, @sbancel, @JohnCendpts, @adamfeuerstein, @biotechinvstr, @daphnezohar, @megtirrell, @matthewherper, @AKAarsalan, @zbiotech, @Dereklowe, @vijaypande, @carlzimmer, @rplenge, @AmbarBh, @JeffreyLowMD, @kyeshwant, @vintweeta, @chrissyfarr, @michael_gilman, @dbsable, @damiangarde, @Jessicaemerrill, @peterbachmd, @bradloncar, @JuliePapanek, @EricTopol, @DShaywitz, @dangebremedhin
Turn meme feed into a true newsfeed. Find and like news and knowledge related pages. Bookmark and visit facebook.com/pages/feed instead of the usual homepage. Use the ‘Save’ feature to bookmark articles and read later at facebook.com/saved
podcasts
Listen to smart people talk in between Cardi B
Stat Signal, Venrock Running through Walls, Genentech's Two scientists walk into a bar, Bioflash, Global Genes RARECast, Timmerman Report, Rock Health, Work Life, NEJM Audio Summary, Tim Ferriss
youtube
John Oliver and Hasan Minaj are great for woke news. Well, youtube is also great for knowledge. Listen to expert panels, company presentations, and various conversations.
Organizations
Alliance for Regenerative Medicine for panels, company presentations, and interviews
Listen to events with expert panels
Listen to biotech executives
audio/books
A small list of books about drug development and biotech
The Antidote by Barry Werth
The Billion-Dollar Molecule by Barry Werth
Biotechnology Entrepreneurship by Craig Shimasaki
A Crack in Creation by Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech by Sally Smith Hughes
The Great American Drug Deal by Peter Kolchinsky
She Has Her Mother’s Laugh by Carl Zimmer
case studies
Case studies are used by MBA programs to dissect and understand companies. Read them voraciously. Try this Google search to access free case studies (link) or check with your school’s librarian
white papers
These are forward looking and analytical. Skim through these and carefully read those that pique your interests
BCG Insights in Life Sciences, McKinsey Insights, Mckinsey & Company Medical Affairs 2020, PWC Pharma 2020, McKinsey Regulatory Excellence, PWC Pharma 2020, PWC insights, Deloitte insights
equity reports
Research reports focused around a single company typically written by an analyst at an investment bank. These reports are challenging to find, so check with your school’s librarian for help. Alternatively, try this Google Search trick (link).
investor & media pages
The ‘Investor & Media’ part of every company’s website contains a wealth of information. The investor webcasts provide a digestible way to consume this information —consume past webcasts. SEC 10-K’s and company presentations. They are dense but provide a comprehensive review of the company.
free online courses
Massive open online courses (MOOC) offer free courses from top-tier academic institutions. These websites come with companion mobile apps for on-the-go learning. Build knowledge in adjacent topics like marketing, biostats, finance, etc.
· edx.org
· MIT
reading tools
“okurrr” - Cardi B