Innovators can improve their performance by paying attention to academic science.
In 1981, in the far outskirts of Los Angeles, a start-up made a bet that would change the lives of millions. Applied Molecular Genetics (Amgen) decided to take a chance on University of Chicago professor Eugene Goldwasser’s research and try to clone the gene behind the hormone that spurs the body to make red blood cells.
Goldwasser had spent years trying to get pharmaceutical firms interested in his work but to no avail. Chicago was not an R&D hub when it came to biotechnology, and local pharmaceutical giants such as Abbott or Parke-Davis did not pay attention to his work. Amgen’s interest meant that, finally, a firm was listening to him. Goldwasser was thrilled, and Amgen glimpsed an anaemia-fighting blockbuster on the horizon.
