Steve Burrill: innovating in the new austerity

Troubled capital market presents challenges for the biotech industry, but new mobile medicine technology holds enormous promise, Burrill explained. Photo: Christine Fu

Imagine: wearable and ingestible biosensors continuously monitor your vital signs and metabolic profile, and analyze them for anomalies. Medical data is transmitted wirelessly to your doctor, who writes a custom prescription based on your personal genetic information, emails it to your pharmacy who then delivers it by FedEx.

Still sometime in the future, yes, but this scenario is no longer strictly science fiction territory. “Most of the innovation in the world today is going to be disrupting how we deliver health care, not just…what we do about inventing health care,” G. Steven Burrill, founder and CEO of Burrill & Company, urged aspirating entrepreneurs to think outside the box at his annual State of the Biotech Industry address on Jan 9 at UCSF Mission Bay, presented as part of the “Idea to IPO” course sponsored by the UCSF Center for BioEntrepreneurship.

Burrill shared insights into main trends affecting the industry in 2011, as well as challenges and opportunities going forward. “The world has gotten really messy,” he said. The European debt crisis has intensified global financial turmoil, making capital scarce and expensive. Sixteen US life sciences companies managed to go public in 2011, compared to twenty in 2010. On average, they sold 28% more shares, raised 13% less money than they desired, and their shares fell 29% from the IPO prices by year end.

Given this unfavorable financial climate, is it viable to enter the biotech industry? Burrill pointed out that while big pharmas scramble to modify their business models, scale back R&D and focus more on merger and acquisition, smaller biotech companies continue to be the source of innovation. The biotech sector worldwide raised $82.4 billion in 2011. Capital is available globally, but entrepreneurs need to be aware of regional differences and explore emerging markets such as China, Russia and Brazil.

The changing landscape of health care was a resounding theme in Burrill’s talk. Currently 55% of drugs used in the US don’t work for the patients, who are genetically distinct and respond differently to treatments. Such ineffectiveness amounts to massive waste and poor quality of care. In November 2011, US patent expired on Lipitor, Pfizer’s best-selling drug , heralding an end to the era of one-size-fits-all blockbuster pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, personalized medicine is making headway with the FDA approval of Roche’s Zelboraf and Pfizer’s Xalkori. Both drugs were developed with companion diagnostics to stratify patient groups and tailor dosage to their specific disease status. “Personalized medicine is a giant opportunity for us to move from the current dysfunctional sickness care system to an efficient wellness care system,” Burrill predicted.

How is personalized medicine going to be delivered? Burrill held up his iPhone. “There are 7 billion people in the world today and 6 billion of them have cell phones.” He argued that smartphone technology has the potential to empower patients, cut costs, and revolutionize the way medicine is practiced in the digital age.

This enlightening idea inspired me to look up advances in digital/wireless/mobile medicine after the talk. Thirty years ago, when “digital” in medicine referred exclusively to rectal examination (hat tip to Dr. Topol), who would have anticipated the advent of apps that track health data, measure blood pressure, analyze sleep patterns, and monitor blood glucose levels? Brave new world indeed.

To delve deeper into this trove of emerging opportunities, check out the upcoming Burrill annual meeting focusing on digital health.