Management competencies in the biotech industry in Switzerland

Authors: Thierry Volery, Karel Doclo, Richard Munton, John Shea

The aim of this analysis is to determine the major challenges in the Swiss biotech industry. After face-to-face interviews with executive management of 17 early stage biotech companies and several associated stakeholders in the therapeutic and product/service biotech sectors, we extracted quantitative and qualitative empirical data on a variety of management issues including strategy, marketing, human resources and intellectual property. The quantitative analysis showed some interesting correlation, such as the maturation of product/service biotech companies over time. However, this learning curve is not so obvious in therapeutic biotech, due to the capital intensive and inherently risky nature of these ventures. There was a clear indication that those companies that did very well in business planning, were likely to be the most promising overall. The results of the qualitative analysis revealed several key challenges for the management of young biotech companies. These include managing funding and planning strategies, marketing and sales, intellectual property, and human resources.

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