The Golden Helix: Inside biotech ventures

by Arthur Kornberg

Book Overview

This candid narrative by Nobel laureate, Arthur Kornberg, chronicles the saga of a small biotech start-up, the key players, the painstaking development of the perfect product, and the forces affecting its resulting success or failure. Kornberg's razor-sharp wit and provocative opinions make this book a compelling page turner, whether he is decrying the current fashion in scientific funding or delving into the hotly contested PCR patent trial.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0935702326
• ISBN13: 9780935702323
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: University Science Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Biotech industry in a nutshell

Arthur Kornberg starts by describing how, as an academic, he was opposed to the commercialization of biotechnology. He describeshis role on the advisorial board at DNAX and identifies the key elements for success in any biotech company. Kornberg details the risks in biotechnology and discusses the pros and cons of commercial biotechnology, and his take on patents - "Secrecy is corrosive; it makes even less sense in industry than in academia." In the end, he concludes that industry, not academia, is where the most productive science takes place.

reality check for academicians considering industry

an autobiographical journey through the minds and hearts of the scientist/ buisnessman. A must for scientists trying to understand how people can do science AND make money!