The Edge, October 22, 2007

Tapping seasoned hands

BY LEE WEI LIAN

Experience cannot always be bought but perhaps it can be borrowed. That’s the hope behind Biotech Corp’s launching of the Executive-in-residence programme, a kind of mentorship scheme for companies with BioNexus status.

The initiative provides fledging biotech companies in Malaysia access to people who have “been there and done that,” hopefully so that they can better navigate the tricky waters of the industry. “This is an example of the government’s commitment to the success of the biotech industry to the extent that it is even providing mentors to biotech companies,” says Biotech Corp CEO Datuk Iskandar Mahmood at the launch. “The biotech industry is not easy. We want this programme to be a catalyst to help our companies scale up to the next level.” While declining to reveal how much the programme is costing the government, he adds that RM40 million has been allocated for development of mentorship schemes, not exclusive to biotech, under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

The first mentor in residence is Robert H Mayor, former CEO of Genencor International Inc a company that makes enzymes for industrial and agricultural uses. He retired from the CEO position in August but remains a member of the board. And that’s how he sees his role in guiding BioNexus companies. “As a member of the board, you are also mentoring a company’s management team. You do not run the company but you are there to provide experience and advice. And I see my role here as something similar to that - to help not to run. But of course it will be much more intensive in that I will meet with company founders and executives quite frequently,” says Mayer. He adds that the personal chemistry has to be right between him and entrepreneurs looking to come under his wing. “They are running the business, not me. There has to be rapport for the relationship to work. If there is no rapport, or if we cannot see eye to eye, I’ll just be wasting my time,” he says. Mayer will be attached to the executive-in-residence programme for a year.

Mayer was introduced to Biotech Corp courtesy of another biotech initiative the Malaysian Life Sciences Fund which is a joint venture between the Malaysian government and San Francisco-based biotech merchant bankers Burrill & Co. Roger Wyse managing director at Burrill & Co, had been in contact with Mayer back in the US and suggested that the latter contribute his expertise to Malaysia. “It sounded interesting and fun,” says Mayer. It’s always good to take ideas and multiply them and Malaysia is fertile ground. And this is a chance for me to keep applying my knowledge after retirement.”

Though Mayer is the first, he won’t be the only mentor in residence. More candidates are being identified and Iskandar says that he is looking to bring in one more before the end of the year which will match the profile of BioNexus companies. There are now 39 BioNexus companies – 13 in agriculture, two in bio-informatics, 18 in healthcare and six in industrial.

The mentorship programme is part of a larger Biotechnology Entrepreneur Development Programme, which aims to facilitate the start-up and competitiveness of local bio-entrepreneurs. Apart from the mentorship scheme, Biotech Corp will also sponsor companies and researchers to international conferences. “We have selected 20 BioNexus companies to be attached to the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences (QB3),” says Iskandar. “Their staff will leave on Oct 22 and will be there for a week to learn some of the world class practices implemented.” QB3 is a biotech research centre that is a joint venture between three leading Californian universities - UC Berkeley UC Santa Cruz and UC San Francisco. “It s not just about numbers any more,” adds Iskandar. “We also want quality.”