Developing new medicines is a hard business. While we live in an era of amazing discoveries in biomedical science, information technology, and medicine, there have not been comparable advances in the development of new drugs or the outcomes of major diseases. Why? Research at Bentley University suggests that it is often because innovative technologies are not in sync with business strategies and public policy. The world’s most successful medicine, Humira, is an example of how much value can be created when science, business, and policy are truly aligned.

Bentley’s Center for Integration of Science and Industry and Health Thought Leadership Network recently hosted a panel discussion about the development of Humira, which was initiated at BASF BIOResearch in Worcester. The panel included three individuals who made critical contributions to Humira’s success: Governor Michael Dukakis; Bentley alumnus Robert Anderson ‘89, former General Council BASF BIOResearch; and Robert Kamen, former president BASF BIOResearch. They joined Center for Integration of Science and Industry director Fred Ledley as well as Robert Coughlin, president and CEO of MassBio, who highlighted some of the lessons that can be learned from the successful development of Humira.

Humira is both a breakthrough medicine that has changed the lives of patients with immune-mediated diseases, and a commercial blockbuster, with annual sales of >$12B. In addition, the BASF BIOResearch facility in Worcester, now AbbVie Pharmaceuticals, was the first tenant in the Massachusetts Biotechnology Park which has created thousands of jobs and contributed to revitalizing Worcester’s industrial economy and civic center.

Attendees heard firsthand accounts of what it took to achieve all of this; the vision that created the Massachusetts Biotechnology Park and attracted BASF BIOResearch to Worcester in the late 1980s and the challenges inherent in assembling an interdisciplinary team, recognizing an unmet medical need and business opportunity, choosing the right technology, and concluding the enabling business partnerships and transactions. Panelists emphasized several lessons:
 

• Recognizing opportunity is the start. As governor, Michael Dukakis recognized the need for industrial redevelopment in Worcester and how a biotechnology park adjacent to the University of Massachusetts Medical School could contribute to finding medicines to treat people suffering from debilitating diseases. Working with civic, academic, and industry leaders, his administration drove creation of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Park in Worcester, as well as the favorable business environment that attracted BASF BIOResearch.
   
• Collaboration is key. Robert Kamen highlighted the many outstanding individuals, drawn from different companies, continents, and cultures, who each made essential contributions to the development of Humira. Robert Anderson also talked about how these individuals came together as a team. “It’s all about a cohesive group - to achieve big goals, it’s important to use everyone’s abilities and analyze the data from different perspectives,” said Anderson, “Your portion of expertise is important, but you need to learn from the other experts in order to understand the bigger picture.”
   
• Adaptability and strategic innovation is a constant. Not only is science and technology constantly changing, but so is business. Robert Kamen talked about the challenge of building a biotechnology enterprise within a company traditionally focused on chemistry, the need for creative strategies that focused the necessary financial resources on Humira development, and ultimately the decision to sell BASF BIOResesrch to bring together established development and marketing capabilities.
   

Robert Coughlin brought the panel to a close, reflecting on how the rapid growth of Massachusetts Biotechnology continues to be based on the fusion of public policy, scientific discovery, and innovative business. “It’s business and science working together,” Coughlin said, “You can have the best scientists in the world doing their thing, and it’s not going to get to the bedside. You can have all the business people in the world, but if there’s no science, it’s not going to work either.”