Calit2 Advisory Board Member Duane Roth Named Executive Director of UCSD CONNECT
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10.26.04 - Duane Roth considers entrepreneurial risk takers in science and technology - whether successful or unsuccessful - true heroes. As UCSD CONNECT's new Executive Director, Roth will continue to champion these heroes by building, sustaining and supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and company creation in San Diego. Roth, former CEO of San Diego-based Alliance Pharmaceuticals, also wants to leverage the incredible power of the CONNECT brand - regionally, nationally and internationally - created by late, founding director Bill Otterson.
Besides emphasizing business development issues, Roth, a 30-year biotech veteran, will also focus on fostering innovation, which includes public policies essential to sustaining a thriving technology community. During a recent interview, Roth explained how he plans to achieve his goals for CONNECT and for the community.
Q: One of the comments about CONNECT over these past several years has been its lack of differentiation among other trade groups and organizations that have picked up the 'ball' from CONNECT in delivering programs and serving its constituency. What do you see CONNECT doing to distinguish itself and regain its leadership role in the community?
A: With more than $1 billion a year in federal research funding coming into our region, the vision for CONNECT established 18 years ago seems to us to be even more valid today. CONNECT helps researchers and innovators move into the development and commercialization phase. We want to be the gateway for all of the research innovation coming out of the various Torrey Pines Mesa institutes. We will work with their technology transfer offices to enhance the flow of innovation into commerce. We want to help them get exposure for their ideas and attract entrepreneurial managers to help advance their science and technology to create products and services. Once these new companies are operational, they will be supported by appropriate partner organizations, including the San Diego Telecom Council, BIOCOM, AeA, and the Software Industry Council.
These organizations play a primary role in dealing with industry issues that affect established and growing companies. But CONNECT's primary role is company creation. Over the past few years, CONNECT has returned its focus on programs such as Springboard. I want to expand and strengthen that program. We need to find more volunteers in the business community who will help us achieve this goal.
Another initiative I plan to make a priority is one CONNECT developed several years ago, in partnership with the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, called the Front Door. The Front Door is a web-based program for anyone who wants to find out about San Diego's financing and venture community, legal services, accountants, architects, etc. CONNECT is the logical host for such a service. I want entrepreneurs and innovators to think of CONNECT first. We have the program developed, thanks to a grant from the Whitaker Foundation, and now need to finance the personnel to manage the site.
Another goal is to work with BIOCOM and the San Diego Venture Group to strengthen the Financial Forum. The availability of capital to fund new innovation is one of the most important things CONNECT fosters. I also want to develop a program to recognize the entrepreneurs who have been the driving force in building our new economy. There is a long list of individuals in San Diego who have helped improve the quality of life for many people around the world - we should listen to them closely.
The last area is fostering innovation, and that means pushing policies that support research, development, venture funding, and a favorable environment for commercialization. We can provide data on which public policies and regulations are detrimental to innovation, as well as provide ideas and examples of initiatives that help advance innovation. If it's an issue that the industry itself can't lead because it may appear self-serving, we can, on behalf of innovation, play a role by partnering with the local trade associations and academic leaders to weigh in on these issues.
Q: A lot of what CONNECT does centers around innovation and the entrepreneur. How does the organization benefit veteran tech companies?
A: We're there every day pulling for innovation, and innovation is the feeder system for the larger companies. More and more, true innovation is coming from small groups of people focusing on a very specific opportunity. It becomes harder and harder to innovate the bigger a company becomes. Therefore, established companies have a vested interest in a strong and healthy CONNECT, because they will partner with or acquire these innovative companies we help launch. Supporting CONNECT's mission allows us to help establish a stronger regional competitiveness by nurturing these innovation clusters. To the service providers to the tech community, helping early stage companies represents their seed corn. Establishing companies requires services of all kinds, and as these companies grow and expand, the early introductions to the start-up entrepreneurs made through CONNECT programs often result in long-term business relationships. I'm going to ask a lot from the community, because I believe a vibrant and healthy CONNECT will be the bellwether of our regional quality of life and future prosperity. Many people have expressed these sentiments to me over the past several weeks - they feel so passionate about making sure CONNECT will continue to be successful. We will need the support and membership of this entire tech community to continue CONNECT's vision. I have a goal to see CONNECT's membership at the 700-member level several years from now.
Q: There has been a strong emphasis on increased collaboration between the various industry associations and CONNECT. What are some of the specific collaborative initiatives you see in the future?
A: We will make sure we have frequent meetings so we understand their issues and concerns. We will look for program collaborations with the trade associations and with organizations like the EDC. For example, if Proposition 71 (the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative) passes, I will work with Julie Meier Wright at the EDC and Joe Panetta at BIOCOM to assist the university, The Burnham Institute, The Salk Institute, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, and the Scripps Research Institute in recruiting the leading researchers and research programs they are targeting for San Diego. Each researcher coming here means there is going to be more opportunity to create companies as a result of his or her research over the next 10 years.
Q: What initiatives will CONNECT develop to work with the research institutions on the Torrey Pines Mesa to create opportunities for scientists in earlier stages of their research?
A: We had a program called Meet the Researcher at one time. We need to look at re-establishing this informal program. I am committed to taking advantage of the relationship I have developed with the local research institutions over the years to create programs that meet their needs and aspirations. The same is true for UCSD, including the Jacobs School of Engineering, the von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement and the School of Medicine's TransMed program. There are two areas we need to look at with regard to getting technology into product development. One is how we can work with the technology transfer offices to enhance the speed to get technology to industry as efficiently as possible. The second is to find new ways to finance the very early stage ideas. There is a lack of capital for the critical stage between the research phase and the proof-of-concept phase for a venture-funded start-up. Our ability to address these challenges will determine how competitive our region will remain. We need homegrown ideas. This means we need earlier, closer and more frequent interactions between scientists and entrepreneurial business leaders.
Q: You were part of an industry where survival rates are low and competition is fierce. How will that experience help you lead CONNECT and this tech community?
A: I have started and developed a biotech company from the ground up. We developed three drugs in the last decade. One reached FDA approval and is now marketed. One failed to show efficacy in Phase 3 clinical trials (final phase of human testing) and the third, our flagship product, had to be discontinued in the final Phase 3 testing due to safety concerns. Therefore, I have experienced the highs and lows of innovative drug development firsthand. Someone once said of the drug development business, "As a CEO, you are not responsible for guaranteeing that a new drug with great promise will be successful, no matter how good the science or important the disease. You are, however, responsible for providing the drug an opportunity to be evaluated by providing the resources, people and money, so that it has its best chance to succeed." The reason this is so important is that a lot of people in this world are suffering from awful diseases and therefore, we must keep trying and testing until we get it right. Almost everything we do in biomedicine in San Diego is creating a new path to test a product, so we should expect more failures than successes. It is important to understand why taking such risk is appropriate, because the winners that do emerge are rewarding not only for the patients but also for the investors. The future of healthcare for mankind in the world lies in the innovation of companies like we have here in San Diego.
Q: What do you view as CONNECT's greatest assets?
A: Brand. It is such a strong brand that we will be able to build on it. I can't tell you how much e-mail I received from around the country from people who know about CONNECT and wished me well in my new position. Our second asset is the goodwill in the community for CONNECT. There isn't a person in this industry who lived through the late 80's and 90's who doesn't have an extremely fond memory of CONNECT, Bill Otterson and CONNECT co-founder Mary Walshok. They smile, they're faces light up, and they say, 'I remember when.'
Q: What are the San Diego tech community's greatest strengths?
A: UCSD, including the Jacobs School of Engineering, von Liebig Center, the Center for Wireless Communications and, of course, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the Department of Biochemistry, and the School of Medicine, have all become tremendous assets to the community. Add to that San Diego State University, Salk, Burnham, The Scripps Research Institute, Sydney Kimmel Cancer Center, the Neurosciences Institute and the La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology. The high concentration of research institutes means that we are deep in the science and technology necessary to keep our region competitive. Because of their depth of research, the future looks very bright for technology.
The UCSD Rady School of Management is also going to play a key role in helping strengthen our region in training the future business leaders we will need to commercialize these innovations. San Diego also is fortunate to have the SDSU Graduate School of Business and the Entrepreneurial Management Center, as well as the business school at the University of San Diego (USD). These universities provide the workforce of our future; they bring the energy that allows our community to grow.
Q: How will CONNECT help maintain the region's tech prowess?
A: By staying competitive. It's great to talk about where we've been and where we've come from. But we have to remain hungry and aggressive because the competition is global. These are not easy businesses and they require certain regional activity to stay competitive. By far, our region's greatest asset is our tremendous ability to collaborate, and CONNECT is the perfect catalyst for that. In this community, we bump into each other and get to know each other, and that brings new innovation and new capital together.
UCSD CONNECT is a globally recognized, university-based public benefits organization fostering entrepreneurship in the San Diego region by catalyzing, accelerating and supporting the growth of the most promising technology and life sciences businesses. More information can be found at www.connect.org.
Orginally published by UCSD CONNECT.