Training for biotech business

GEMMA ESCARRÉ

In order to move forward in terms of innovation —a country’s source of wealth— it is key for companies and organizations to invest in highly trained and qualified human capital. One of Biocat’s strategic priorities is to promote and drive training offered in Catalonia in the biotechnology, biomedicine and medical technology sector, focusing on “critical areas of knowledge so that companies, mainly in the early stages, will be more competitive,” explained Biocat Director of Innovation Marta Príncep.

Therefore, Biocat both supports existing training and promotes initiatives to cover unmet needs in the interfaces of knowledge from science to business. Most of these training proposals —which compliment those offered through universities and business schools— are geared towards reinforcing strategic decision-making skills in management teams in areas such as negotiation, business development, project management, communication and relations with different target audiences, and industrial property. In short, the goal is to strengthen internal management talent in biotech and techmed companies.

The Biocat training actions for this year are:

3rd BIOCÀPSULES PROGRAM
From 28 April to 14 June 2011 (Barcelona)

This training initiative aims to reinforce strategic and transversal knowledge in different business areas where shortcomings have been detected, as most companies in Catalonia that excel in their area of activity are spin-offs from the academic arena. During their growth period, these companies need to acquire knowledge related to new areas of administration and strategic business management.

The program is made up of five one-day sessions that offer intensive training in key success factors. The sessions have a theoretical/practical focus that allows participants to apply the knowledge acquired immediately in their day-to-day responsibilities:

• Business development
• Negotiation for biotechnology managers 
• Strategic communication
• Project management with highly qualified teams 
• Strategic management of industrial property

More than 150 professionals from the sector have participated in the Biocàpsules program, which is now in its third year.

http://biocapsules.biocat.cat (Registration now open)

3rd SUMMER SCHOOL ON MEDICINES
From 11 to 22 July 2011 (Barcelona and Toulouse)

The third Summer School on Medicines —organized by the Barcelona Science Park, Biocat, the University of Montréal, Montréal in Vivo, Paul Sabatier University and Oncopôle— will be held in Barcelona and Toulouse.

This program offers 90 hours of training including science and industrial sessions, case studies and visits to facilities, thus covering the whole medicine-development value chain from initial concept through launch to market. The professors, which come from seven different countries, will cover a syllabus that for the first time encompasses research experience in research centers, business management and knowledge in the pharmaceutical industry, and the standpoint of the administration. English is the official language for this program.

The Summer School is geared towards university graduates in life sciences, Master’s, PhD and postdoctoral students, members of the biopharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies, researchers, science journalists, and other professionals related to the subject.

www.ssm3.org (Deadline for registration 17 June 2011)

COURSE BIOCAT-ESADE: REDESIGN YOUR BIO COMPANY STRATEGY
From 7 to 9 November 2011 (Barcelona)

PROPOSED COURSE (pending confirmation of new date)
More information: Nerea Alonso • nalonso@biocat.cat • Tel. +34 93 310 33 89

The wave of mergers and large companies’ change in strategic priorities as a result of the global recession have reduced the number of potential buyers for start-ups’ pipelines, administrations watch over regulatory requirements and investors seek out efficacy for their money, all this while new markets and competitors are popping up in emerging economies.

In this context, management teams at biomedical and biotechnology start-ups and companies must redesign their strategies so as to not just survive but prosper. In order to be attractive in an inevitably global market, leaders must look towards science, cash flow, managing new alliances and detecting opportunities, as well as fostering top-notch teams.

Biocat and Esade Business School have been working together on a number of training actions for executives since 2009. The most important, however, is this year’s three-day course entitled Redesign your Bio Start-up Company Strategy: How to turn science into business success. This course is geared towards entrepreneurs, managers and senior executives at biotechnology and biomedical companies and start-ups that want to contribute value added to their business.

Esade features in the top ten of all world rankings on relations with the corporate world, both from the viewpoint of companies training their executives at Esade Executive Education and firms recruiting our graduates.

Informational leaflet

INNOVATION TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUMS
8 June 2011, September and December (Barcelona and Lleida)

Each year, Biocat organizes sectorial meetings focusing on an emerging topic of particular interest in science or technology, where professionals can discover new approaches and share their experience and point of view on the topic.

This year’s first symposium, to be held on 8 June in Barcelona, will focus on research and innovation in environmental biotreatments, from challenges to future needs. It is organized in collaboration with the CTM Centre Tecnològic.

Two additional symposia are scheduled for the second half of this year, one on new animal models for more efficient preclinical research in collaboration with the Lleida Agrifood Science and Technology Park, and the other on the challenges and risks of advanced-therapy research, which will be held in conjunction with the University of Barcelona-IDIBAPS Faculty of Medicine Cell Therapy Program.

Biocat will provide more information on these symposia shortly. For any questions contact: innovacio@biocat.cat

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY PROGRAM
Fourth quarter of 2011 (Barcelona)

As last year, Biocat and the Spanish Federation of Healthcare Technology Companies (Fenin) organize the medical technology advisory program The regulatory labyrinth: what to ask the experts. The aim is that, after the program, attendees will be able to get answers to their questions on key elements of the current regulatory framework, in order to incorporate the best strategy for their business project. For more information on the previous program, click here.

In addition to these training programs organized internally, Biocat also regularly collaborates with other organizations. One example is the courses that will be held in May and June in conjunction with the Catalan Society of Biology —one of the oldest affiliates of the Catalan Studies Institute, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012— focusing on an introduction to LBP (laboratory best practices), the application of experiment design in the industry, and the analysis and interpretation of statistics from experimental data in the industry.

Information on life sciences training in Catalonia offered at universities, business schools and other institutes is also available on the Biocat website: http://www.biocat.cat/training