Focus on: BioPharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology firms make up a multi-billion dollar industry that depends on the strategic use of science, technology, information and intellectual capital. To compete and excel, organizations need scientists, engineers and technologists who understand the business drivers that determine success and failure — and they need leaders in finance, marketing and operations who understand the processes and principles behind scientific discovery and development.

New demands from an aging population, new areas for discovery from the human genome project, complex alliances and partnerships among pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies, global workforces, increased use of direct-to-consumer marketing, productivity gains through off-shore outsourcing, reduced managed care drug reimbursement — all are among the trends that are creating both opportunities and challenges. And across the board, consolidation has increased the intensity of competition.

How do you make smart decisions in an industry where the costs and the risks are so high? A block-buster drug may require 10-15 years of research, clinical testing and development — yet each day delayed in development time can correspond to $1-3 million in lost revenue. How do you drive innovation and productivity without jeopardizing quality and safety? Where are the emerging opportunities in information technology, nanotechnology and other fields that can improve results?

Penn's EMTM program prepares leaders who can bridge the gap between technology and business.

• Who can most benefit?
• Courses available in BioPharm and related technologies
• Emerging Technologies Seminar
• Participating companies from the BioPharm industry

Who can most benefit?

For scientists, engineers and IT leaders in pharmaceutical, biomedical and biotechnology organizations, EMTM offers the chance to examine your own industry in greater depth — and to broaden your understanding of technologies in other areas that have an impact on advances in pharmaceutical and biotechnology.

Consultants and managers in other organizations who work with or analyze the industry gain a better understanding of the underlying dynamics of modern biotechnology and drug development.

Representative positions of candidates who could benefit from EMTM's Biopharma offerings:

• Entrepreneurs and leaders of biotechnology firms
• IT leaders in pharmaceutical and biotech organizations
• CFOs and reports
• VPs and Directors of Operations, Strategic Planning, R&D, Supply Chain Management
• Senior Project Engineers, Portfolio Managers
• Senior Research Scientists
• Team Leaders
• Marketing Managers

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EMTM Courses in BioPharm and related technologies

At EMTM, you learn from Penn Engineering faculty at the forefront of applied research in biotechnology, as well as successful biotech scientists and entrepreneurs. They bring both research expertise and an understanding of related business issues through their work with pharmaceutical firms, entrepreneurial biotech companies and government health and research organizations.

Among the courses available to students interested in Biotechnology and Biomedical technologies:

• Modern Biotechnology — From protein engineering and DNA fingerprinting to cell cloning and genetic mapping, this course examines the biological processes and engineering principles involved in one of the leading growth industries in the United States.
• Medicine and Biotechnology — In an age of advancing biotech breakthroughs and soaring healthcare costs, the role of biotechnology in medicine for treating patients has never been more important. How do you map a strategy that addresses ethical issues as well as business concerns, and that mitigates (or even capitalizes on) uncertainties, to survive in the life science industry?
• Drug Discovery — When your R&D pipeline is central to success, what concepts, systems and tools can help accelerate the discovery of key compounds? This course draws on advances in robotics, genomics, biophysics and statistics, among others, that hold useful applications to modern drug discovery.
• Clinical Technology Innovation — From over-the-counter pregnancy tests to multimillion dollar imaging modalities, technologies found in the hospital setting follow a complex path from design concept to FDA approval. A look at the business models, distribution concepts and economics of established and emerging technologies across the clinical area, including diagnostics, genetic therapies and advanced drug delivery technologies.
• Nanotechnology — No scientific field or industry sector will be unaffected by the revolutionary opportunities presented by nanotechnology. This course presents the concepts behind the mystery of ‘small’, and the techniques and applications that will help transform pharmaceutical and biotechnology enterprises of the future.
• Photonics — As limitations of speed, size, bandwidth, power and reliability affect many electronic devices and systems, photonics is a fast-moving area with significant applications to optical communication systems, lasers, medical devices and other high-technology areas.
• Data Mining — CCurrent methods and industry trends in data mining and business intelligence, including data mining techniques — how they work and when to use them; data warehousing — approaches and challenges; and emerging data mining methods, including text mining and web mining.

For additional course listings, see: Courses.

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Emerging Technologies Seminar

First-year students take part in a year-long Emerging Technologies Seminar that brings faculty and experts from different disciplines to discuss emerging ideas in science and technology, as well as their business implications. Sample topics from previous years include:

• Emerging Technologies: Opportunity or Risk
• Lab on a Chip and Biosensors Technology
• New Trends in Drug Discovery
• Data Mining for Drug Discovery
• Nanotechnology: Small Things Making a Large Impact
• Polymers for Biomedical and Opto-electronic Applications
• Advances in Robotics

For more, see: Emerging Technologies Seminar.

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Recent Participating Companies

EMTM students have come from a range of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, including:

AstraZeneca International
Berlex
Bristol-Myers Squibb

Cell Genesys
Cephalon
Covance Inc.
Dak Pharmaceuticals
Dupont
ESI Lederle/Wyeth-Ayerst Labs
GlaxoSmithKline
Immune Response Corporation
Janssen Pharmaceutica Products, L.P.
Johnson & Johnson
McNeil Consumer & Specialty Products
Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
Merck & Company
Ortho-Biotech Products Ltd.
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Pfizer Inc.
PPL Therapeutics, Inc.
Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc.
Sanofi-Aventis
Schering-Plough
SCIREX Corporation
Seigfried Ltd.
Taylor Technology, Inc.
Verispan
Warner Lambert
West Pharmaceutical Services
Wyeth

For other industries and organizations represented, see: Companies.

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