Earlier this week, I spoke with Phil Greenwood, who is one of the driving forces behind the innovative M.S. in Biotech program here at the University of Wisconsin. I will be teaching a unit on entrepreneurial finance this fall to second-year students in the program, and I am very excited to be involved. Inevitably, the conversation turned to the local environment for biotechnology companies, and Phil opined, "We really need a home run." This has become the accepted wisdom in Madison. If we could just have one huge biotech success -- something that would create a lot of wealth in the community -- then other successes would follow.

Many had thought that Third Wave was going to be that home run, but it has turned out to be a double, I think. Promega is another company that is often mentioned with a faint sense of regret. Not that the company has been a failure, but that people keep hoping for more. The company that now seems to be the darling of all those who are looking for the home run is TomoTherapy. Who knows? The real home run may today be a small company, or just an idea in Hector DeLuca's laboratory.

Life in Madison | Bookmark

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8345157d569e200d835437ec069e2

Links to weblogs that reference Madison: Looking for "Home Run":