A New, Young, and Hopeful Monkey
Hey WSO,
Just wanted to introduce myself to what seems like a great site and a fantastic resource. I'm going into my sophomore year at the University of Pennsylvania, studying in the Vagelos dual-degree program in Life Sciences & Management (degrees from Wharton and the College of Arts and Sciences). I'm planning on concentrating in Finance and Healthcare Management in Wharton, with a Biology major in the college. My interests lie in the interface of business and science--specifically, I'm really looking to explore the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare consulting, and investing in the biotech/pharma/healthcare realm. I'd definitely love some advice from anyone with expertise in the field!
Looking forward to years of monkeying around.
You're definitely doing it correctly, I'm from the biotech/med-device business side who's had to do a lot of catching up on the science side.
It's certainly an exciting industry, with all the technologies rolling out of the clinic for rare diseases, vaccination techniques, etc...
Keep at it.
Thanks for the words of encouragement! I'm really excited to see where the industry is headed; seems like the sky is the limit.
not a biotech analyst, nor do I have expertise, I know a little about the business because many of my friends are in the industry and many of my clients are as well. Here's my advice: learn the different areas of pharma like medical device, big pharma (MRK, PFE), bioscience like boston scientific, biogen, etc., contract research, health insurance, etc.
I say this because medical device companies are widget makers, with more predictable earnings, whereas a company like a biogen might lose money for years developing a molecule but then hit a payday when Merck buys it, so it's important to know the relevant metrics as a drug goes through development but has not yet become marketable.
Thanks for the advice! I completely agree. I've been doing a lot of work with clinical strategy here, which has really allowed me to see the whole process of drug development from a different perspective. And from what I understand, understanding the ups and downs of drug development and the way drug development works--the way the company works, essentially--is the key to understanding the company's value and potential. I'm looking to do some personal investing in biotech, so I've been navigating Cowen biotech and therapeutic reports to see some of their analyses. It's great stuff, and I'm always looking to learn more!
Seth Klarman is great at pharma investing, look at his new purchases and historical purchases (of late, IDIX, recently KERX), look at the company's filings (not just 10q & 10k, look at the 8ks) and see what he saw that made him want to load up, you might get some insight into when you can possibly identify a catalyst.
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