Welcome to Biotech Nation

Acknowledgments

There’s a whole passel of people who contributed to the success of this book, and you’ve already met some of them: trusty producer, Mark Andrews, of course, and Clive Cookson and Nuala Moran. There’s also David Ewing Duncan, the chief correspondent for BioTech Nation and the person with whom I chat constantly on BioIssue of the Week. Which reminds me that I need to thank all the science journalists I’ve hung out with through it all, as well as the BioTech Nation guests themselves—no guests, no book.

Some of the people I need to thank read drafts, discussed the pros and cons of including this or dispensing with that, or provided essential assistance at key points. (One person helpfully provided a blue pen at a critical juncture, and the last corrections made it into FedEx with minutes to spare.) And while some folks were just around at a single point in time, others had an active part through it all. You know who you are if you provided an anecdote which appears herein, while some of you were just great friends, without whom I wouldn’t have made it through—book, or no book.

In alphabetical order by first name (I know. It’s kind of goofy, but I’ve always been a big fan of this format), let me personally thank:

Allison Young, Anders O. Field, Jr., Andy Ambraziejus, Annette Kaminsky, Arvind Bhandari, Bev Ziegler, Bob Alls, Bob Wild, Bonnie Shaw, Ceil Muller, Charles Polvino, Chris Langton, Christie Dames, Danny Bringer, Deirdre Kennedy, Dottie Johnson, Gleb Nikitenko, Greg Ryken, Gwen Risch, Howard Gelman, Irene Majuk, Jake Steinman (and Maggie, God bless her), Jason Pontin, Jennifer Holder, John Kingston, Kevin O’Malley, Kingsley Smith, Larry Brewster, Linda Bernardi, Liz Crilly, Marilyn Field Wilson, Mark Huffine, Marlene Caldes, Matt Gardner, Monty Carlos, Neeta Bhandari, Paul Toulmin, Paula March Romanovsky, Pauline Shen, Richard Beer, Rocky, Steve Privett, Tara Lemmey, Teddy, Wilma Kay, and all the AMACOM staff, who got behind this book wholeheartedly. Thank you all!

I must give special acknowledgment to my sons: Nate and Jon. Even when times were tough—which meant it was tough on them, as well—they have been unwavering in their support of my work. I cannot imagine two more loving sons, nor could I ever have imagined how much I love them.

Finally, no one would be reading this book at all were it not for the “mastermind” behind Welcome to BioTech Nation. That person is AMACOM’s Executive Editor Jacqueline Flynn. I had sent an admittedly dry, biotech book proposal into AMACOM, and it had somehow landed on her desk. She emailed back to me: “While your idea is interesting, I fear that it is just too narrow of a focus to produce a book that would be commercially viable.” I nearly didn’t read the rest. She’s saying “No,” right? I then realized she had invited me to call her to talk about it.

We spoke on the phone, swapped stories for half an hour, and laughed uproariously. Jacquie suddenly got quiet and spoke very seriously. “You know, I’ve read your book proposal through twice, and no one would ever know you were funny.” That got another laugh. She asked me to write a chapter on how I started BioTech Nation, just to see if it could work as a book. Chapter One appears here, pretty much as written then. And that was all it took. And a little bit more, obviously. From that point forward, we’ve continued to laugh about all kinds of things, and she has been a font of sage advice for this first-time author, who feels smart about so many things and clueless about others.

At this writing, I must tell you that I’ve never actually laid eyes on Jacquie Flynn, but by the time you read this, I no doubt will. I’m sure you can tell I’m looking forward to it enormously.

Moira Gunn
San Francisco
March, 2007