IDEA Collider: Innovation & Asymmetric Learning in Pharma

ABOUT THE INNOVATION DELUSION Innovation is the hottest buzzword in business. But what if our obsession with finding the next big thing has distracted us from the work that matters most? “The most important book I’ve read in a long time . . . It explains so much about what is wrong with our technology, our economy, and the world, and gives a simple recipe for how to fix it: Focus on understanding what it takes for your products and services to last.”—Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media It’s hard to avoid innovation these days. Nearly every product gets marketed as being disruptive, whether it’s genuinely a new invention or just a new toothbrush. But in this manifesto on thestate of American work, historians of technology Lee Vinsel and Andrew L. Russell argue that our way of thinking about and pursuing innovation has made us poorer, less safe, and—ironically—less innovative. Drawing on years of original research and reporting, The Innovation Delusion shows how the ideology of change for its own sake has proved a disaster. Corporations have spent millions hiring chief innovation officers while their core businesses tank. Computer science programs have drilled their students on programming and design, even though theoverwhelming majority of jobs are in IT and maintenance. In countless cities, suburban sprawl has left local governments with loads of deferred repairs that they can’t afford to fix. And sometimes innovation even kills—like in 2018 when a Miami bridge hailed for its innovative design collapsed onto a highway and killed six people. In this provocative, deeply researched book, Vinsel and Russell tell the story of how we devalued the work that underpins modern life—and, in doing so, wrecked our economy and public infrastructure while lining the pockets of consultants who combine the ego of Silicon Valley with the worst of Wall Street’s greed. The authors offer a compelling plan for how we can shift our focus away from the pursuit of growth at all costs, and back toward neglected activities like maintenance, care, and upkeep. For anyone concerned by the crumbling state of our roads and bridges or the direction our economy is headed, The Innovation Delusion is a deeply necessary reevaluation of a trend we can still disrupt.

Peter B. Bach is a physician, epidemiologist, researcher, and respected healthcare policy expert whose work focuses on the cost and value of anticancer drugs. Dr. Bach is leading efforts to increase understanding of the US drug development process and develop new models for drug pricing that include value to patients Dr. Bach described a 100-fold increase in cancer drug prices since 1965 after adjusting for inflation, and that the cost of an additional year of life from a cancer treatment increases by $8,500 each year. In 2012, he and other physicians at MSK drew attention to the high price of a newly approved cancer drug and announced his hospital’s unprecedented move not to offer it to patients because of its high price tag with no notable improved clinical outcomes. The drug price was later cut in half by the manufacturer. Dr. Bach’s work in lung cancer screening has led to the development of several lung cancer screening guidelines and one of the first-ever risk-prediction models for this disease. He has also proposed a number of strategies for Medicare to link payment to the value of healthcare services delivered. Dr. Bach has been inducted into the National Academy of Medicine, American Society of Clinical Investigators and the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. He served as a Senior Advisor for Cancer Policy at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2005 and 2006. Dr. Bach has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and editorials in scientific journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He has also written numerous healthcare-related op-eds and been featured in mainstream media outlets such as the New York Times, New York magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, and 60 Minutes. View a comprehensive list of media coverage of Dr. Bach and his work. Dr. Bach completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University and his medical studies at the University of Minnesota and the University of Chicago Harris School. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University followed by a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins. While at the University of Chicago, he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar. Dr. Bach has been a faculty member in MSK’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 1998 and a Senior Scholar at the International Agency for Research on Cancer since 2008. In 2020, Dr. Bach co-founded EQRx, a biotechnology startup focused on developing affordable drugs. He currently serves an advisory role within the organization. Further information at: https://drugpricinglab.org/about/ or https://www.mskcc.org/news/media-coverage?keys=Peter+bach

In conversation, discussing patient input into clinical programs, unmet need assessments, measurement and so much more.Jen was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis as an infant and now has a laundry list of other conditions and surprises (like a brain tumor). She is passionate about elevating and valuing the patient voice, and went on to become a health outcomes researcher, human factors engineer, FDA Consumer Representative, and, most importantly, a patient advocate. Jen earned a PhD in Environmental Medicine from NYU, and studies patient-centered outcomes at Columbia University Medical Center. Jen can usually be found dodging NYC traffic on her bicycle, sitting next to you at a conference, or rocking out to '90s music - she does a sweet running man.Jen at IDEA's UnHerd event at 2020 JP Morganhttps://medium.com/@jhoronjeffhttps://www.savvy.coophttps://techcrunch.com/2020/02/14/this-co-op-wants-to-put-money-back-into-patients-hands/

From the Amazon description: Pharmaceutical breakthroughs such as anti­biotics and vaccines rank among some of the greatest advancements in human history. Yet exorbitant prices for life-saving drugs, safety recalls affecting tens of millions of Americans, and soaring rates of addiction and overdose on pre­scription opioids have caused many to lose faith in drug companies. Now, Americans are demanding a national reckoning with a monolithic industry. Pharma introduces brilliant scientists, in-corruptible government regulators, and brave whistleblowers facing off against company exec­utives often blinded by greed. A business that profits from treating ills can create far deadlier problems than it cures. Addictive products are part of the industry’s DNA, from the days when corner drugstores sold morphine, heroin, and cocaine, to the past two decades of dangerously overprescribed opioids. Pharma also uncovers the real story of the Sacklers, the family that became one of America’s wealthiest from the success of OxyContin, their blockbuster narcotic painkiller at the center of the opioid crisis. Relying on thousands of pages of government and corporate archives, dozens of hours of interviews with insiders, and previously classified FBI files, Posner exposes the secrets of the Sacklers’ rise to power—revelations that have long been buried under a byzantine web of interlocking companies with ever-changing names and hidden owners. The unexpected twists and turns of the Sackler family saga are told against the startling chronicle of a powerful industry that sits at the intersection of public health and profits. https://www.posner.com/pharma/ https://www.amazon.com/Pharma-Greed-Lies-Poisoning-America/dp/1501151894

PureTech Health is an advanced, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines targeting serious diseases that result from dysfunctions in the nervous, immune, and gastrointestinal systems (brain-immune-gut or the “BIG” axis), which together represent the adaptive human systems. PureTech Health is at the forefront of understanding and addressing the biological processes and crosstalk associated with the BIG axis. By harnessing this emerging field of human biology, the Company is pioneering new categories of medicine with the potential to have great impact on people with serious diseases. PureTech Health is advancing a rich pipeline that includes multiple post human proof-of-concept studies and pivotal stage programs. PureTech’s rich research and development pipeline has been advanced in collaboration with some of the world’s leading scientific experts, who along with PureTech’s team of biopharma pioneers, entrepreneurs and seasoned Board, identify, invent, and clinically de-risk new medicines. With this experienced team pursuing cutting edge science, PureTech Health is building the biopharma company of the future focused on improving and extending the lives of people with serious disease. Ms. Zohar created PureTech Health, assembling a leading team to help implement her vision for the Company. Ms. Zohar has been recognized as a top leader and innovator in biotechnology by a number of sources, including EY, BioWorld, MIT’s Technology Review, the Boston Globe, and Scientific American. She sits on the Technology Development Fund Advisory Board at Children’s Hospital Boston, is an Editorial Advisor to Xconomy, and is on the Board of Advisors of Life Science Care 

25 Visions for the Future of Our Species We now have the tools to transform ourselves and our species. Greater health and longevity, enhanced brains, and engineered fertility are in the works. What’s just over the horizon is even more astonishing. We call this the neobiological frontier. The book is a collection of 25 essays, interviews, and works of fiction and art offering a big-picture perspective on the profound changes made possible by the merging of biology and technology. The book brings together today's smartest and most creative inventors, thinkers, and scientists to tell us their vision of the future. This book is a 2020 time capsule for future humans. Neo.Life: 25 Visions for the Future of Our Species covers these powerful new biotechnologies and ideas in non-technical language, with beautiful full-color images and a fresh design by National Design Award winner Jennifer Morla. This book makes a compelling foundation for the discussions we’ll be having about these technologies for years to come, and as one observer said, it is definitely coffee table worthy, no matter which planet that table is on. Meet George Church, one of the most prodigious bioengineers of our time, in conversation with Ramez Naam, a computer scientist, clean tech investor, and science fiction author. George maintains a list of genes that could be edited to make humans healthier or more suited to future environmental conditions, including life off-planet. He’s also got an idea to send a single-cell biological probe to faraway worlds that could be programmed to beam information back to Earth. Consider neuroscientist David Eagleman’s ideas about how embryo selection could change the way we parent our children. Dive into an imagined future with inventor Danny Hillis as he guides you through the possibilities and pitfalls of designing your child from scratch using gene editing technology. Will you “supersize” them, or give them an extra appendage? If you bestow a color or pattern, keep in mind that it might be trendy today but look dated 10 years from now. Discover filmmaker and artist Lynn Hershman Leeson’s ideas about identity in her antibody-as-art project that will change how you think about life-science technologies. Hear from Osh Agabi, the Swiss-Nigerian roboticist-neuroscientist who’s built a brain on a chip, literally blending silicon and neurons. He envisions using his technology to allow us to connect our consciousnesses together in a sort of giant empathy web. Read Juan Enriquez, who has been thinking and writing about self-directed evolution for a long time. In his creative brief, he imagines a future with a far greater diversity of human species, and considers the implications. Ponder the risks and ethical implications of this new frontier with CRISPR scientist and film producer Samira Kiani, who outlines the safety checks she’s developing to control gene edits. And hear from biosecurity policy expert Megan Palmer, who shares how her experiences led to social responsibility programs for synthetic biologists. BOOK DETAILS Designed by Jennifer Morla Hardcover, 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches 160 pages, 25 color illustrations Smyth sewn, with silver Litho foil-stamped cover Contributors: Oshiorenoya Agabi, Christina Agapakis, Siranush Babakhanova, Seth Bannon, George Church, Emma Conley, Zoe Cormier, Zack Denfeld, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, David Eagleman, Juan Enriquez, Kristen Fortney, Joel Garreau, Daisy Ginsberg, Danny Hillis, Samira Kiani, Cathrine Kramer, Becky Lyon, Hannu Rajaniemi, Lux Alptraum, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Ramez Naam, Megan Palmer, Nicola Patron, Robert Plomin, Steve Ramirez, Sissel Tolaas, Bowen Zhao, Changle Zhou.

Chapter-by-chapter discussion, covering:opium/ heroinantibioticscontraceptive pillvaccinesand more...Find more by Thomas Hager here: https://www.thomashager.net 

Dr. Jeremy M. Levin is Chairman and CEO of Ovid Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:OVID), a company whose mission is to bring treatment to patients with rare neurological conditions. Dr. Levin is concurrently the chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Prior to founding Ovid, Dr. Levin was president and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., (TLV: TEVA) Before Teva, Dr. Levin was member of the executive committee Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY). In that capacity he was the architect of and implemented the String of Pearls Strategy, which transformed Bristol. Dr. Levin joined BMY from Novartis (SWX: NOVN) where he was global head of strategic alliances. He has served on the board of directors of various public and private biopharmaceutical companies and is currently on the board of directors of Lundbeck (OMX: LUN). Dr. Levin was voted as one of the twenty-five most influential biotechnology leaders by Fierce Biotech and one of the top three biotechnology CEOs in 2020 by The Healthcare Technology Report. He is the recipient of the Albert Einstein Award for Leadership in Life Sciences and the B’nai B’rith Award for Distinguished Achievement. He has practiced medicine at university hospitals in England, South Africa, and Switzerland. Dr. Levin earned his bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s degree and doctorate in chromatin structure, at the University of Oxford, and thereafter his medical and surgical degrees from the University of Cambridge where he won the Kermode Prize for his work on Captopril. Authors of individual chapters HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES Vicki L. Sato, Stelios Papadopoulos, Sam Waksal, Bill Sibold, Frederick Frank Q&A with a Biotech Pioneer, Brook Byers, Sol Barer PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES Michelle McMurry-Heath, Andy Plump, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Karen Bernstein, Ron Cohen, Samantha Du, Cedric François THE VIEW FROM INSIDE COMPANIES George Scangos, John Young, Stéphane Bancel, Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, John V. Oyler, Paul Hastings, Christi Shaw, John Maraganore, Rachel King, Richard Pops, Deborah Dunsire BROAD LESSONS Kenneth I. Moch, Quita Highsmith, Luke Rosen, Sylvia Wulf, Philip Miller, Alex Zhavoronkov and Evelyne Bischof LEADERSHIP Jeffrey M. Solomon, Julie Louise Gerberding, Jeff Berkowitz, James Greenwood INVESTOR PERSPECTIVES Nina Kjellson, Bruce Booth, Alexander Karnal, Mark Lampert, Geoff Porges LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Peter Kolchinsky, Yaron Werber, Jeff Kindler, Otello Stampacchia

The books Annie recommends:Maria KonnikovaThe Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win Philip Tetlock, Dan GardnerSuperforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction Don A MoorePerfectly Confident: How to Calibrate Your Decisions Wisely

Peter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/peterkolchinskyThe book's website: https://peterkolchinsky.com/bioLink to the Katherine Eban discussion: