The Golden Helix: Inside Biotech Ventures [Hardcover]

Arthur Kornberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0935702326 | ISBN-13: 978-0935702323 | Publication Date: March 1995 | Edition: 1

Written by Novel Laureate, Arthur Kornberg, this narrative chronicles the saga of the small biotech start-up, the key players, the painstaking development of the perfect product and the forces affecting its resulting success or failure. Kornberg decries the current fashion in scientific funding (where Kornberg maintains that "the best plan is no plan"), puzzles over imponderables connected to the US Patent office and delves into the muddle of the hotly-contested PCR patent trial - the technique for which Kary Mullis was ultimately awarded a Nobel prize.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...smartly written work that will reward readers in academe and industry." -- Nature

"A fascinating adventure into the interworkings of the emerging biotechnology industry and its complex relationship to academic scientists." -- Leroy Hood, Univ. of Washington

"Anyone fascinated with modern science, particularly biotechnology, will appreciate this book." -- Choice

About the Author

Arthur Kornberg shared (with Severo Ochoa) the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1959 for his laboratory synthesis of DNA. He is the author of several major books, including DNA Replication, second edition (W.H. Freeman and Company, 1991) and a scientific autobiography, For the Love of Enzymes: the Odyssey of a Biochemist (Harvard University Press, 1989). He is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: Univ Science Books; 1 edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935702326
• ISBN-13: 978-0935702323
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,468,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing if you are seeking business insights, July 18, 2000

By 

Mrs J White (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Helix: Inside Biotech Ventures (Hardcover)

A good book if you want resumes of biotech industry pioneers, but written from a strongly US-centric and scientific rather than commercial point of view. I had hoped to gather insights into what it's like being part of a new start-up venture, but instead found little more than generous (if uncritical) praise of the scientific workers involved in the story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biotech industry in a nutshell, April 18, 2000

By 

Yali Friedman (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Helix: Inside Biotech Ventures (Hardcover)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars A truly visionary work, of 1995, May 8, 2010

By 

Jay (Danville, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golden Helix: Inside Biotech Ventures (Paperback)

This book is incredibly insightful into the biotech industry and is easy to read. Still valuable to read 15 years later after the industry has changed so much since 1995. It is interesting to see that many of the predictions have since come to fruition.