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generally right, and if clients and
Wall Street like them, they tend to
do well.
GS: Even if a person has a PhD in cancer
biology, they would usually only know
cancer from a certain angle; genetics or
cell biology or modelling of pathways or
whatever. But companies with novel
science by definition are doing
something this analyst wouldn't have
training in. For instance, someone who
got their PhD before RNAi was
discovered may not be able to
understand the full implications of RNAi
for cancer. And of course the problem
will get more acute with every decade
that the analyst has been out of the
academic environment. A lot of money is
hinging on their decisions so it is
important that they have a really good
sense of the commercial implications of
the science. How do you think these
analysts cope with the barrage of new
science?
MK: What makes these analysts so
good in my opinion is their desire to
learn the cutting edge work
happening at the intersection of
academia and industry. They seem
to have a thirst for knowledge at this
intersection and learn what they
don't know. Importantly, their
backgrounds, experience and
scientific instinct prepare them well
to pick up new material with relative
ease.
GS: Do you know whether the analysts
spend a lot of time at conferences or
JUNE, 2010
meeting with academicians in their area
of interest to stay in touch and also to
keep alive a network of experts whom
they could call upon for an opinion if they
needed to?
MK: I don't think they spend a lot of
time in academic circles, but they
are at many scientific and industry
conferences. I suspect they do have
a very active and useful network
upon which they can call when they
have questions. I have also known
of occasions when they have hired
scientific consultants to help on
topics outside their core areas of
expertise. Additionally, while many
of them are experts in areas of
biological sciences, they have little
knowledge about clinical practice.
Some of these research analysts are
medical doctors, but others often call
on physicians to help them
understand prescribing patterns and
clinical decision making, for
example.
GS: Is there some other source of
information about an analysts' job that
we could point readers towards? For
instance, are there any publicly available
reports that readers could access?
MK: These reports tend not to be
publicly-available. Banks provide
them to their clients and use them
internally to make decisions. That
said, everyone on Wall Street has
access to every other bank's research
through on-line databases we use.
These reports are easily available in
the financial services industry, but
The New Crossroads
are tough to access for the general
public. I get research reports fairly
often in my inbox from an Indian
investment bank called First Call
Equity Advisors. I find those
reports to be pretty good. Perhaps,
those are available on their website
and can be looked at as examples.
G S Finally, : what is your sense of this
kind of work in India? You've been here
a few months now, studying the financing
of the biotech industry, and you've met
some analysts. Did you meet any with
PhDs in the biological sciences? And did
you get a feel for whether more of these
jobs are likely to come up in India soon,
whether analyzing the local industry or
companies abroad?
M K I : think jobs like this will
increasingly move to India. There
are few remaining reasons for this
type of work to require that people
be located in North America or
Europe. One could have made the
argument a decade ago that it helped
to have a research analyst available
to meet with clients and be an active
and present contributor to
relationships with clients. I believe,
however, that with technology most
of the work these days can be done
anywhere, and that face-to-face
interactions can happen periodically.
This will require that analysts that
follow North American or European
stocks adjust to North American or
European timings. A lot can happen
in one trading day and the analyst
need to keep up with that.
CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
CALL FOR LETTERS OF INTENT
DBT invites Letters of Intent for long-term R&D support in a group of schemes known as Centres of Excellence and Innovation in Biotechnology (CEIB).
The scheme will provide funding to augment and strengthen institutional research capacity for promotion of excellence in interdisciplinary science and
innovation in specific areas of biotechnology. The programme is intended for institutions with a substantial investment in, and commitment to, biotechnology
research. The programme will provide flexible long-term support for highly innovative research (both basic and translational in nature) in biotechnology,
which creates not only high-quality publications and intellectual property but also translational outputs through mid /high end innovation.
th
The last date for the receipt of letter of intent (one electronic copy in MS-Word format + three hard copies): 6 August, 2010
For details on the scheme and the proforma for letter of intent, please visit DBT's website: www.dbtindia.nic.in or www.dbtindia.gov.in.
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