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"Medicine of the past has been palliative, a series of crutches," he says.
Haseltine is betting that "regenerative medicine" - using the body's own make-up to recreate healthy tissue, rather than chemicals to control symptoms - will help people live longer, healthier lives.
"It's a whole area of science he and Human Genome Sciences are leading," says Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Washington.
Though unprofitable, it sits on about $1.7 billion in cash and is constructing a 1 million-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Rockville. [Click to hear more]
Unlike some other biotechs, Haseltine decided early on to become a full service pharmaceutical company. Rather than licensing genetic discoveries to larger companies, HGS plans to take its laboratory science from concept to mass-production.
"That strategy worked out," says Wei-Wu He, a former HGS researcher and partner at Rockville biotech venture firm Emerging Technology Partners. "Now other biotechs are following suit, but HGS is farther along than its peers."
Haseltine views himself as a scientist, but thinks a corporate environment, where everyone works toward common goals, is necessary to further research.
"I define myself as a scientist, not a businessman, although I work in a business environment," he says. "The academy is famous for a lot of things, but it is not famous for cooperative activity."
But even academics are impressed by the amount of scientific inquiry that goes on under Haseltine's watch.
"Science in a company is very closely related to short term results," says Walter Gilbert, Haseltine's doctoral advisor at Harvard. "The quarterly games are deleterious to efforts to do things over time. But he's trying to keep a research attitude and focus."
"He has the depth of science and an keen business mind," adds He. "When you put those together you have a lethal combination.'
"Bill has incredible range. From deep leadership expertise and knowlege of science, to organizational building, which isn't always easily accomplished by someone with just scientific acumen." - Venture capitalist Alan Spoon |
