Smeal College of Business on Final Stretch of Five-Year Strategic Plan

Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald co-leads a New York City asset management firm focused primarily on biotechnology investment. A graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and the Temple University School of Medicine, Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald holds a seat on the Board of Visitors of Penn State's Smeal College of Business.

In 2008, the Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University introduced a five-year strategic plan that focused in on four core principles: extraordinary education, research with impact, dialogue with society, and community with distinction. Within each of these categories, officials identified an array of measurable goals, ranging from creating a new major to increasing research endowments to boosting mentorship programs. The Smeal College of Business developed these strategic goals with the ultimate objective of becoming one of the top five business schools in the nation.

Over the last five years, the Smeal College of Business has demonstrated its commitment to continued success and improvement. As the plan comes to an end with the close of 2013, officials will analyze the overall effectiveness of the initiative and its goals. To learn more about this school's educational programming for undergraduate, graduate, and executive students, please visit Smeal.PSU.edu.

Two Basic Differences between Biotech and Pharmaceutical Firms

A New York City-based investment professional, Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald co-heads an asset management hedge fund dedicated primarily to the biotechnology sector. Over the course of his career, Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald has played a role in developing drugs to treat prostate cancer, influenza, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Although the work of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies often overlaps, several major differences actually exist between the sectors. This article will discuss two such distinctions.

Firstly, biotechnology firms typically work with complex proteins, genetic material, and microorganisms. Rather than using chemical-based synthetic processes to develop small-molecule drugs, as pharmaceutical companies do, biotechnology firms focus their research on the discovery of novel compounds that can be applied to various therapies.

Secondly, biotechnology companies often operate at a loss during their extensive research and development phases; however, by taking this risk in R&D, they are often responsible for creating the most innovative drugs on the market. On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies generally invest more in marketing and sales, and can use the funds from current drugs on the market to subsidize new research or to license new drugs from organizations like biotechnology firms. Upon creating a successful drug or therapy, many biotechnology firms collaborate with larger pharmaceutical companies that have a marketing and sales infrastructure in place, licensing the drug to or even merging with the larger firm.