SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwire - September 24, 2008) - Comprendia, a newly formed biotechnology and life sciences marketing consulting firm, is announcing the launch of BioStartup Marketing Kits, which will help biotechnology startups obtain the marketing they need to grow. The kits will enable the new companies to easily obtain the materials they need to launch, allowing their management to focus on other vital activities. BioStartup Marketing Kits are designed to meet the specialized needs of biotechnology companies, including materials and services such as website design, logo and branding, brochures, public relations, and social media.

This announcement comes at a time when biotechnology firms are touted as being a “safe haven” for investors during the current financial crisis. Large pharmaceutical and venture capital companies are investing in biotech companies to re-fill drug pipelines and provide novel tools for drug discovery. Additionally, the restructuring of large pharmaceutical companies has spawned a host of new drug discovery startups, founded by former big pharma employees. Choosing the right marketing strategy is essential to the success of these new, largely unknown businesses, because it not only determines their image and direction, but also their ability to raise money and recruit top scientists.

“We see a real need for science-savvy marketing solutions for small biotechnology companies,” said Mary Canady, Ph.D., Founder of Comprendia. “We understand the science that drives these companies, and can translate it into a winning marketing strategy that will lead to rapid and sustained growth for our clients. BioStartup Marketing Kits provide the materials and guide scientific entrepreneurs through a process which helps them define their objectives and message.” Dr. Canady’s insights into biotechnology marketing arise from her unique background in both science and business. She worked ten years as a biochemist and eight years in marketing and business development roles at life science and biotechnology companies, including Invitrogen and EMD/Merck Chemicals.

Comprendia, LLC, formed earlier this year, brings together Ph.D.-level scientific consultants with talented developers, designers and writers. Comprendia is located in San Diego, a biotechnology hub known for its close ties to world class research institutions such as Scripps Research Institute, Burnham Institute, and UCSD. Recently, San Diego has become home to a burgeoning green technology industry, with Sapphire Energy, Verenium, Genomatica, and Synthetic Genomics joining the biotech community. Comprendia serves the biotechnology, life sciences, and green technology industries worldwide.

For more information:
http://comprendia.com/biostartup
Mary Canady
Ph: 858.922.6640
mcanady@comprendia.com

Release on Marketwire

You’ve surely noticed it in other areas–the news is chock full of stories about how businesses are using social media to get ahead. What about using social media in the biotechnology or life sciences industry to help your business to grow? Well, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that Biotech’s presence is lagging behind other industries in most social media. Searching “biotech” in Facebook and Twitter gives a small number of results compared to other industries, and most of the bookmarking sites don’t even have a biotechnology category (we’ll define these media below). The good news is that now is the time to get active in this media, so that you can get traction now before the competition discovers how useful it is. Besides further engaging your customers (a la Web 2.0), you can also use it to increase your web traffic by improving your search engine ranking.

We plan to publish several blog articles in our Marketing 101™ series on using social media to grow your business. Social media can be described as split up into the 4 C’s: Context, Contacts, Communication, and Collaboration. There is a broad range of applications and a lot to cover, and things change literally daily. In this initial installment, I’m providing the following guide to social media get us started, and you can also check out the Wikipedia entry.

Comprendia has recently become active on Twitter, and we have found it to be a great way to keep in touch with the (small) biotech and drug discovery community presence there, and to get people to visit the site. We have also used LinkedIn and Ning to create the Biotech Marketing Group, which will facilitate networking and exchange of information between professionals in the area. The capabilities of the “out of the box” tools such as Ning are growing daily, so you don’t have to build them from scratch. In addition, there is a wealth of biotech news, reports and research available in myriad places, allowing you to leverage the information to create interest in your website and products.

In the coming installments, we will provide tips on using social media to build your biotech or life science business. Let us know if you have any specific questions you’d like us to address. Also, check out our full Marketing 101 series to learn more about leveraging marketing tactics and strategies for biotech or life science business growth. If you can’t wait to get started, contact us about integrating social media into your business and marketing strategy, and you’ll get a leg up on your competition!

I attended the Biocom Open House in San Diego last Thursday, and had a great time. The theme was “Southern California Life Science Industry is Larger than Life,” complete with oversized nametags and summer “accessories” and food. I saw some familiar faces and met some new as well. I met someone from Pacira Pharmaceuticals, formerly Skye Pharma, who are actively developing and marketing their group of local anasthetic products. I met Stephen Chang, CSO of Stemgent, a relatively new company in San Diego developing products for stem cell research, an exciting new area. From a marketing standpoint, their website is impressive and “web 2.0,” meaning that it has interactive features such as a forum and a wiki.

I was interested to hear about Avitacor, which runs clinical trials in Mexico, from their co-founder Ciro Garcia. I’m betting this is something we’ll hear a lot more about in the future. I also learned of the UCSD $200K Entrepreneurship Competition from Dany Kitishian, UCSD student and CEO. He was looking to raise funds for the competition’s top award for a startup business plan, which has been increased from $50K to $200K. I also ran into Leo Lee of Pfizer, also the Membership & Communications Chairperson for the San Diego Biotech Discussion Group. They are having a meeting this week, and he indicated that they usually have around 200 in attendance.

Joe Panetta, CEO of Biocom, gave a short speech in which he highlighted the fact that Biocom has a new website, complete with a new Career Center via a partnership with BioSpace. Biocom put on a great event with what I estimate to be about 200 people in attendance. The food was great and I had a good time socializing and getting up to speed on San Diego Biotech.

OK, you collected a TON of business cards at BIO, now what? Get the most out of your BIO 2008 attendance with careful follow up:

1. First, keep the business cards as they were originally collected (mine are in groups according to the days I spoke to the people) and write any additional notes on the back of each card soon, while it’s still fresh in your mind. You might even want to write down when and where you talked to the person, so that you can refer to it during your initial contact with them.
2. Think about your strategy for following up, and organize the business cards accordingly. Are there some contacts you feel that are more pressing than the others? Did you make several different types of contacts? The categorization will be specific to your objectives for the conference. Also consider whether any upcoming business trips would be merited. For example, if you made many contacts in Boston, you can tentatively plan a trip there, and mention it in the email to your new Boston contacts.
3. Before emailing to your new contacts, make sure that your email signature contains all of the information needed to contact you, as well as a link to your website. Make it as easy as possible for them to evaluate your value proposition by including targeted links or small attachments.
4. In the email to your new contacts, be sure to refer to details of your conversation with them, and be sure to emphasize why they should remain in contact with you, or meet with you. In other words, answer the question in their minds “what’s in it for me?”
5. The LinkedIn online network is a great way to connect to people and to simultaneously show them your professional experience and network. However, you cannot send attachments in the LinkedIn invitation emails, and not everyone uses it. To get around this, you can include a link to your LinkedIn profile in your email text or signature, and those who use it are likely to follow the link and add you as a connection.
6. Short boilerplate paragraphs in the text of your email are fine, to describe your value proposition. Just be sure to personalize the email wherever possible by mentioning their needs, and ways you see that you can help them.
7. Close with an indication that you will follow up with a phone call. That way, if it appears that they have ignored the email, you can still have one more chance to make a connection. Remember also that connections may not be fruitful immediately, and be patient.

Good luck!

Is there a dearth of blog posts on Bio on the Road this morning because everyone was up late partying? Maybe. I went to the Women in Bio party early last night at the Mr. Tiki lounge, complete with leis and Hawaiian food and drink (no spam). I made a lot of great contacts and met very knowledgeable people in the field. After that, I went to the BIO 2008 Gala Reception Gaslamp Quarter Block Party on 5th. The party was complete with mimes, fire dancers, and other entertainment, along with great food from the restaurants on 5th street. Being from San Diego, I left early, as living in a great vacation spot is never as fun as visiting . . . hope you all didn’t stay up too late. Have a great day and see you in 2009 in Atlanta!

I’ve spent most of my time on the BIO 2008 exhibit floor, networking for Comprendia, and I’ve noticed that there are many environmentally friendly promotional items, with cloth bags being the most common. I even got a kit to help make my house more environmentally friendly from our local energy provider, SDG&E. Interestingly, at least one biotech company, Vertex, is using a fluorescent light bulb as the focus of their current marketing campaign “targeting a bright future.” Kudos to them for being ahead of the curve on realizing this new type of earth-friendly light bulb appeals to scientists and consumers alike.

In general, there is also an association between the color green and being environmentally friendly, and some companies are capitalizing on this. The “rage” at BIO 2008 are the bright green crocs-style shoes that one company is giving out (I can’t remember the name, but they are in the 1000 aisle). I walked by their exhibit yesterday and the line was very long! Some people even switched out their dress shoes to model these wonders of fashion . . . amazing how high level scientists and biotech professionals still have such an attraction towards free items.

I read somewhere that is an increase in the number of companies choosing the color green for their logos, to capitalize on this trend. Does this include Comprendia? Well, we do strive to be green in providing earth-friendly promotional options to our clients, and traveling only when absolutely necessary, relying on web-based services to meet, but we also just happen to like the color green.

Of course, the BIO 2008 schedule and logistics also center around green initiatives. All day today in Room 28 AB, the Industrial and Environmental track will have presentations on the development of clean technologies and affecting climate change. BIO 2008 organizers are also implementing a number of green , such as composting, leftover food donation, and recycled carpet.

Do all these initiatives and ties to being green just make us feel better, or do they motivate us to elicit change in the climate crisis? I think biotech should embrace the green concept in many ways, from the way we portray ourselves, to our operating logistics, and most importantly in the objectives we set for our businesses. Reversal of climate change is going to come from us, there is no question about it. Let’s get to work!

On Monday night, I attended the Biotechnology Institute’s reception and banquet, honoring top science teachers and the high school student finalists in the Sanofi-Aventis International BioGENEius challenge. San Diego’s own Jay Vavra, of High Tech High in Point Loma, won the Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award, being judged as the top biotechnology educator. It is truly amazing what these biotechnology teachers and students are doing these days. Jay and his students are involved in a project sponsored by Invitrogen and San Diego Zoo’s CRES developing methods to barcode African bushmeat, and they are also traveling to Africa to demonstrate the techniques. Teachers are now combining biochemistry, physics, chemistry, and forensics into biotechnology education, creating a truly interdisciplinary and attractive way for our future scientists to learn. The projects from the BioGENEius challenge finalists can be viewed at Upper Level, Ballroom 20 Lobby from 8:30-5:00 today, Wednesday June 18th.

At the banquet, I also met Lisa McDonald from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). She told me about JCVI’s DISCOVER GENOMICS! mobile laboratory, which is a fully functional laboratory on a bus, used to teach kids about the techniques used in biotechnology today. The bus currently serves the metro DC area, and there are plans underway to support another bus that would serve San Diego when the JCVI UCSD facilities are opened. JCVI is committed to teaching young people about science, and the bus is quite impressive.

Overall, it was a very interesting night. I’ll admit that I had gone to network, and didn’t know much about the Biotechnology Institute, but came away with a better appreciation of biotechnology education in the US. With the current cuts in education, notably in California, we need to remember the importance of educating these future scientists who will face ever-increasing challenges in healing, fueling, and feeding the world.

Well, it has been a very busy week in San Diego biotech. We’re all getting ready for the big BIO 2008 conference, and we also got the news that Invitrogen(IVGN) acquired Applied Biosystems (ABI). The deal appears to have “something for everyone,” as Invitrogen CEO Greg Lucier will remain CEO, but the new company will take the ABI name and be headquartered in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego.

How will the companies integrate? The idea seems good on paper (as did the Time/Warner AOL merger), as the products are complementary: IVGN has the consumables that can be used with ABI’s instruments. Lucier has been quoted in saying that the merger will “double the consumables business.” One thing that is glaringly obvious to me, having been through several biotech company integrations, is that the sales forces of the two companies will be vastly different and perhaps difficult to integrate. Although instruments and the consumables used in them seem very straightforward to sell together, it is very difficult to get an instrument sales person, who is accustomed to a longer sales cycle and larger commissions, to sell smaller items. We’ll see how the sales force is structured–there is no reason why the different types of account managers can’t work together.

Lucier has assuaged fears of the return of integration problems that occurred during previous mergers, stating that the IT infrastructure is much more robust now. I believe that, as my casual conversations with IVGN employees seem to reflect that much has been done in integrating six sigma principals into many aspects of operations, likely including IT.

I have always been intrigued at how casually biotech and life sciences companies treat brands, as it appears all Invitrogen products will be re-branded as ABI (although I have no inside information that this will happen). We’ve seen this happen many times (GE Healthcare, Millipore, recently) and normally, Invitrogen has been the great “amalgamator” (Life Technologies, PanVera, Molecular Probes). In other industries, brands are treated very carefully, as it is understood how important brand equity is in attracting and keeping customers. Perhaps in the life sciences, we are all used to constant change by now?

When I first made the leap from academia to marketing in the life sciences, branding was a foreign concept to me, and I had a hard time relating it to biotechnology products. Wikipedia defines branding as “a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service . . . which serves to create associations and expectations among products made by a producer.” Translation? The best example I can think of is from one of the world’s leading brands, Coca Cola. You see a can of Coke, with its red imagery and logo, and you know what to expect when you pop the top and take a drink. Can you imagine if tomorrow Coke cans came in yellow? Would you expect the same refreshing beverage as you placed the can to your mouth? Probably not, and that’s because you have “associations and expectations” with the Coca Cola branding, which you wouldn’t have with a new labeling of the product.

Why should you care? Branding can be used in a lot of different ways at any sized biotech or life science company. Most consider Invitrogen to be the first company that brought formalized marketing and branding to the life sciences, with a distinct “look and feel,” which was incorporated into their product packaging, newsletters, catalog, and clever, consistent Ads. All of these materials work together to evoke an overall opinion of the company in the mind of the customer. When a scientist opens a kit from a well-branded company, s/he already has an expectation as to how the product will work, and normally this is a good association, otherwise it would not have been purchased.

Large companies normally have a branding style guide which directs them on which colors and fonts to use, layouts for Ads and all communications with customers, and sometimes even a “voice” which describes the style of the verbiage used. These style guides are done by trained branding professionals, and can be expensive for smaller companies. However, smaller companies can take advantage of branding without this large expenditure, by keeping a few key concepts in mind.

Start with a web/graphic designer to design your logo, website, and brochures–there is no shortcut for this, and doing it yourself can be disastrous. While you are at it, have them design some key items that you know you’ll need in the next 6 months, which may include product inserts, fax cover page/letter head, business cards, email blast template, and newsletter. Getting these items now will save you time later, and may also give you a “head start” with other materials you’ll need. I once heard that there are three things that are needed for effective branding: consistency, consistency, and consistency. This rule may be even more important for a small company, as potential customers are looking for clues as to your company’s reliability in all of their communications with you. With some forethought, you can portray a consistent branding message to your customers. When consistency is paired with high quality products, researchers will associate your marketing materials and communications with your products, leading to increased loyalty and purchases. Here are some tips to help you to remain consistent:

1. Consider product packaging and inserts carefully. All should be consistent in content and with the brand.
2. Utilize a consistent font in all of your advertisements, and communications when it is feasible. This should be part of the package that the designers give you.
3. Ask employees to include a company-wide, consistent signature in emails, with all contact information.
4. Make sure the company letterhead and fax coversheet are easily accessible to everyone in the company, and utilized.
5. Make sure that your voicemail system is user friendly and consistent (you can even suggest a greeting for employees).
6. Consider a short training for all employees on the importance of company image and consistency of the brand. You’ll likely find that employees are proud of your products, and are eager to keep the branding consistent, once they understand the importance.

Do you want to learn more about how you can leverage effective branding for increasing market share for your biotech and life sciences products or services? Comprendia can help, contact us to schedule a free one-on-one or web-based presentation, and ask about our Marketing 101™ workshop. This post is part of Comprendia’s Marketing 101 Blog Series, designed to help you grow your business by developing marketing strategies and tactics that work for biotechnology.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital for any company, and biotech companies are often very fluid and must keep their sites optimized to reach their target audience. Researchers rely heavily on search engines such as Google to quickly find information and products, and having your site at the top of the list makes them more likely to visit it. There are several tricks of the trade to improving your ranking, including using keywords on your page, simplifying your design by omitting extras like Flash, and cozying up to the search engines by using their web tracking and advertising applications. However, the single most important thing you can do is to add useful content to your site. In other words, make your site a place where your customers would want to come, not just for your products, and they will.

In Biotechnology and the Life Sciences, we are lucky in that there is usually a wealth of scientific research behind the products, so creating content around them simply takes time to put articles together. Consider writing application notes or newsletters that will not only put your products in the context of your customers’ research, but will increase your search engine indexing. Another idea is to include an application that many of your customers will find useful. Do your customers need to make certain calculations repeatedly, or would they benefit from a listing of references on a particular topic? Often, these resources can be integrated into your product listing. Thus, they will not only provide researchers with useful information, but they will be linked to your products and increase your search engine indexing because they will contain words that your customers are already searching for.

Some biotech companies have broken basic SEO rules. A few years ago, several companies got the idea to link their signal transduction products from graphical pathway maps. Thus, researchers searching for anything from “ras protein” to “map kinase” will find these applications and the products related to them. Great idea, but two of the companies used Flash animation for their applications, which are almost invisible to the search engines. Currently, the one company that chose not to do this, EMD Biosciences, still shows up fairly prominently in the search engines, while the others don’t.

Getting your site recognized by search engines is best done by professionals that understand your science, your target audience, and how to implement a strategy that will meet your goals for growing your biotech or life science business. Whether you need to redesign your website completely, or just need the “extra minds” to write engaging content, Comprendia can help. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and Marketing 101™ seminar, which will include hints for optimizing your website today. This post is part of Comprendia’s Marketing 101 Blog Series, designed to help you grow your business by developing marketing strategies and tactics that work for biotechnology.