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Co-working spaces in which many entrepreneurs share a common environment have been a hallmark of the computer startup industry for decades. Now, the life sciences sector is beginning to do the same. Elie Dolgin talks with the pioneers helping to bring affordable wet-lab space—plus the infrastructure and support needed to launch a successful commercial enterprise—to the next generation of biotech innovators.
University technology transfer offices are tasked with helping bring the inventions made by academics to the attention of potential investors. But selling off intellectual property to patent aggregators in an effort to bring in money to their institutions could stifle the future development of new technologies.
In August, Novartis appointed Ricardo Dolmetsch to be the company's global head of neurosciences—the first new hire for its reincarnated neuroscience division. As a professor at California's Stanford University School of Medicine for the past ten years, Dolmetsch made his name using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to study a rare form of autism known as Timothy syndrome. Elie Dolgin met with Dolmetsch at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in the Technology Square area of Cambridge to discuss how he plans to succeed where so many others have failed.
Better outcomes and lower costs are needed in cancer care. To establish true value for money, researchers must establish what matters most to patients and other relevant stakeholders—including families, employers and even insurance companies.
Each year, tens of thousands of young people worldwide die suddenly after their hearts stop beating for no apparent reason. Genetic testing for inherited heart rhythm disorders can potentially offer grief-stricken family members an explanation for the loss of their loved ones and provide actionable diagnostic information to help them avoid the same fate. And yet, such 'molecular autopsies' are rarely performed by the forensic experts who investigate unexplained deaths. Jeanne Erdmann meets the medical professionals who are trying to change that.
