Career Choices

1
Career Choices

• Presentation 12th November 2004

2
Overview

• Overview of Photopharmica and Current Position
• Brief Career History
• Illustration of key decisions to Current Position
• Choices and how they were made
• Pitfalls, Highs and Lows of Key decisions

3
Photopharmica

• Idea conceived at University of Leeds
• Technology base company
• Commercialising University Research from bench
  to clinic
• Based on Photodynamic therapy, light activated
  drugs
• Based on 15 years of research
• Concept is develop two drugs to market
• 4 founding managers

4
Photopharmica

• Spin-out Company, University of Leeds
• Develops novel treatments for Oncology and
  Infectious Disease
• Set up in 2001
• Raised seedcorn capital 2002, 250k
• Raised 3.5 million 2003
• First company into Patients with new treatment in
  infectious disease.

5
Role

• Founding managers
• Responsible for strategic, financial and HR
  management
• Individual Role as Business Development Manager
• Responsibility for Marketing, Licensing,
  Intellectual Property, Business Planning, Raising
  Finance

6
Skills required

• Writing business plans
• Understanding patentability and freedom to
  operate issues
• Understanding Legal documents
• Project management skills
• Understanding accounts
• Raising finance

7
Career History

• PhD
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow
• MBA
• Business Development/Technology Transfer
• Founder/Business Development Photopharmica

8
Three Key Choices

• Choosing to leave the bench
• Next Career move
• Choosing to become a founder of Photopharmica
• Cover
• -Options available at time of decision
• -Inspiration, when and how
• -Where information came from
• -High and Low of each choice

9
Leaving the Bench

• Inspiration
• Manager setting up his own company
• Watching others commercialise technology
• Choices Available
• -Join large corporate, gain commercial
  experience
• - MBA, patent agent, Law

10
Leaving the bench

• Information
• -talking to others
• -Journals such as New Scientist and Nature
• -Career Fairs
• -Case Studys
• -Mentor (somebody who had done this before)

11
Challenges and Benefits

• -Giving up full time employment
• -Leaving Canada
• -Giving up research
• -Starting new career path
• -Learning new skill

12
Next Career Move

• Inspiration
• Work experience
• Choices Available
• - gain commercial experience first
• -join TT office directly

13
Challenges and Benefits

• Finding a position without commercial experience
• Steep learning curve despite re-training
• Realisation that choice was right

14
Starting Photopharmica

• Original reason for changing career
• Believing in company
• Strong working relationship with team
• Chance to start something that I could share in

15
Challenges and Benefits

• High risk business
• Leave permanent job
• Work for reduced salary
• Due diligence
• Tied in for number of years
• Gain broad experience quickly
• See research technology having real benefit

16
Where Next

• Committed to Photopharmica until exit
• Likely to go back and start another company