Source: Life Science Leader

G. Steven Burrill has devoted his entire career to helping life sciences companies start up operations and sustain their growth. In 1994, he started Burrill & Company - a venture capital (VC), private equity, merchant banking, and media life sciences firm. The Burrill family of life sciences venture capital funds now manages more than $950 million in assets and has played a pivotal role in helping establish the next generation of American biotechnology companies.

A prolific writer and highly sought after biotechnology speaker, analyst, and financial advisor (both nationally and internationally), Burrill is one of the early pioneers and shepherds of the American life sciences industry. Last year, he was awarded the Alan Cranston Living Legend Award and the BayBio Pantheon DNA lifetime achievement award for biotechnology leadership. He is the author of a series of annual biotechnology reports which are a must-read for life sciences executives and scientists alike. His latest and most intriguing report is entitled Biotech 2009-Life Sciences: Navigating the Sea Change.

Burrill contends there are three things driving the sea change that is occurring in today's life sciences industry: 1) restructuring of the financial markets, 2) changes in regulatory and healthcare reimbursement policies, and 3) major advances in science and medicine. I had an opportunity to chat with Burrill about his views on the impact of the financial crisis, personalized medicine, and healthcare reform on the future of the life sciences industry.

The financial meltdown has affected almost all sectors of the American economy. What impact has it had on the U.S. life sciences industry?

Burrill: For the past 40 years or so, we have had a reasonably good equity market with available and relatively cheap access to capital. Although there were significant economic downturns in the life sciences sector, first in 1987 and then again in 2002 (which the industry weathered), by and large the financial rules guiding equity markets hadn't changed much during the past 20 years. That is to say if public companies built value, financial markets appreciated that, stock prices went up, and investors were happy. However, the current economic meltdown has caused a dramatic and permanent restructuring of the financial markets and has changed the way we do business. This has resulted in a lack of access and availability of investment capital to many life sciences companies that desperately need capital infusions to maintain operations.