For Blood and Money: Billionaires, Biotech, and the Quest for a Blockbuster Drug
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-02-26 06:53:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Nathan Vardi
- ISBN：0393540952
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Summary
For Blood and Money tells the little-known story of how an upstart biotechnology company created a one-in-a-million cancer drug， and how the core team—denied their share of the profits—went and did it again。 In this epic saga of money and science， veteran financial journalist Nathan Vardi explains how the invention of two of the biggest cancer drugs in history became （for their backers） two of the greatest Wall Street bets of all time。
In the multibillion-dollar business of biotech， where pharmaceutical companies， the government， hedge funds， and venture capitalists have spent billions on funding， experimentation， and treatments， a single molecule can stop cancer in its tracks—and make the people who find that rare molecule astonishingly rich。 For Blood and Money follows a small team at a biotech start-up in California， who have found one of these rare molecules。 Their compound， known as a BTK inhibitor， seems to work on a vicious type of leukemia。 When patients start rising from their hospice beds， the team knows they’re onto something big。
What follows is a story of genius， pathos， and drama， in which vivid characters navigate a world of corporate intrigue and ambiguous morality。 Vardi’s narrative immerses readers in the recent explosion of biotech start-ups。 He describes the scientists， doctors， and investors who are risking everything to develop new， life-saving treatments， and introduces suffering patients for whom the stakes are life-or-death。 A gripping nonfiction read， For Blood and Money illustrates why it’s so hard to bring new drugs to market， explains why they are so expensive， and examines how profit-driven venture capitalists are shaping the future of medicine。
In the multibillion-dollar business of biotech， where pharmaceutical companies， the government， hedge funds， and venture capitalists have spent billions on funding， experimentation， and treatments， a single molecule can stop cancer in its tracks—and make the people who find that rare molecule astonishingly rich。 For Blood and Money follows a small team at a biotech start-up in California， who have found one of these rare molecules。 Their compound， known as a BTK inhibitor， seems to work on a vicious type of leukemia。 When patients start rising from their hospice beds， the team knows they’re onto something big。
What follows is a story of genius， pathos， and drama， in which vivid characters navigate a world of corporate intrigue and ambiguous morality。 Vardi’s narrative immerses readers in the recent explosion of biotech start-ups。 He describes the scientists， doctors， and investors who are risking everything to develop new， life-saving treatments， and introduces suffering patients for whom the stakes are life-or-death。 A gripping nonfiction read， For Blood and Money illustrates why it’s so hard to bring new drugs to market， explains why they are so expensive， and examines how profit-driven venture capitalists are shaping the future of medicine。
Reviews
Scott
，
Really great read if you want to learn about the highs and lows of developing drugs。 As one who is in the biotech/medtech space in the Silicon Valley， it was neat how there were a lot of names and places that were familiar to me。 Sadly， one of the take-home lessons of this book was that you should not get involved with medtech as a regular scientist or engineer if you want to get rich。 Not only can medtech R&D be long and risky， but as this book shows， there are a lot of wealthy people who run a Really great read if you want to learn about the highs and lows of developing drugs。 As one who is in the biotech/medtech space in the Silicon Valley， it was neat how there were a lot of names and places that were familiar to me。 Sadly， one of the take-home lessons of this book was that you should not get involved with medtech as a regular scientist or engineer if you want to get rich。 Not only can medtech R&D be long and risky， but as this book shows， there are a lot of wealthy people who run and invest in these companies who aren't afraid to screw you over to become even richer。 But it's encouraging to read about the work that's been done to make a leukemia diagnosis a little less dire。 。。。more
Joshua Samsoondar
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3。5 stars， interesting story and pretty quick read， but really lacked depth when it came to the science or getting into the clinical results。 It glosses over some pretty awful clinical trial designs （although that would probably spoil the narrative of BTKi being miracle drugs in CLL）。
Alan
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I have a personal stake in the events described in this book。 If not for the pharmaceuticals produced by these hard-charging millionaire venture capitalist investors and their hired-gun scientists， I quite probably would have died from pneumonia ten or fifteen years ago 。 。 。 pneumonia brought on by the obliteration of the immune system caused both by chronic lymphocytic leukemia and conventional chemotherapy intended to treat it。 Ego trips， idealistic scientists intent on making a difference i I have a personal stake in the events described in this book。 If not for the pharmaceuticals produced by these hard-charging millionaire venture capitalist investors and their hired-gun scientists， I quite probably would have died from pneumonia ten or fifteen years ago 。 。 。 pneumonia brought on by the obliteration of the immune system caused both by chronic lymphocytic leukemia and conventional chemotherapy intended to treat it。 Ego trips， idealistic scientists intent on making a difference in the lives of cancer patients， shopping for promising but ignored drug patents on the shelf at big-pharma corporations， firing dedicated professionals who built small companies but got ousted in stock takeovers: All that happened on the road to my survival。 As the author， Nathan Vardi， responded in an interview when asked if all this was "right，" or the way it had to be: I don't know。 Should I feel bad that a demoted or laid-off medical researcher came away with a payout of only a few million dollars， compared to the investors-turned-biotech CEOs who pocketed billions？ Is this the only way to medical miracles？ I don't know。 But isn't that the true definition of capitalism？ Piling up money and the tools and technology it buys to produce something grand and useful that moves civilization forward （or not）？ And isn't that the history of capitalism？ Lots of exploitation to accumulate that pile of money and to make things happen？ What's new？ Life-saving drugs。 。。。more
Neha
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Awesome awesome awesome！！！。。。。love the fast pace and tense backdrop。 Bonus， you learn about the ROIs associated with biotech spinouts。
Sandra The Old Woman in a Van
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What a ride！ If the biotech industry fascinates you - read this book。Full disclosure - I worked for J&J and was a project team member of the ibrutinib drug development team （representing one of the less prominent disciplines， preclinical safety - not mentioned in the book at all）。 I had first or almost first-hand knowledge of much of the information in this book。 I could not identify any notable errors or misrepresentations。 （However， some of the poor behaviors of the principles were a bit downp What a ride！ If the biotech industry fascinates you - read this book。Full disclosure - I worked for J&J and was a project team member of the ibrutinib drug development team （representing one of the less prominent disciplines， preclinical safety - not mentioned in the book at all）。 I had first or almost first-hand knowledge of much of the information in this book。 I could not identify any notable errors or misrepresentations。 （However， some of the poor behaviors of the principles were a bit downplayed， IMO- public temper tantrums were unfortunately pretty common with this team and leadership。）But the book tells an accurate story。 Did the principles get lucky， or are they just brilliant？ While many are indeed brilliant and creative， they mostly got lucky。 They picked an asset everyone else had discarded， and it worked。 I've been involved in hundreds of small molecule drug discovery and development programs over my 30+ years in the industry - each program comes with a team of people who believe in its promise to save lives。 Ibrutinib is one of only two I was personally involved with that actually made it across the finish line。 And that's because it does save lives。 Working on this medicine was one of the highlights of my career - and the crazy， crazy ride with many of the characters in this book made it all the more memorable。 Of course， I was NOT one of the people that made their riches with this program The J&J folks got their salaries but not PCYC stock。 。。。more
Christina
，
This book sits too close to home for me to enjoy it。 Overall， the result was great for patients— there is no denying that。 Sadly， I really struggled with how this book was written— it seems like a literal day by day account of what transpired， but from a few points of views only。 I can confirm from my own experience that this story is not unique to how early stage biotechs operate。 The book is just a drag to read and sometimes generates a few eye rolls。 （Do we need to be reminded that Teslas are This book sits too close to home for me to enjoy it。 Overall， the result was great for patients— there is no denying that。 Sadly， I really struggled with how this book was written— it seems like a literal day by day account of what transpired， but from a few points of views only。 I can confirm from my own experience that this story is not unique to how early stage biotechs operate。 The book is just a drag to read and sometimes generates a few eye rolls。 （Do we need to be reminded that Teslas are obnoxious in the Bay Area？ Or how big and small biotech cultures and approaches clash？ The absolute worst was calling JPM the Super Bowl of biotech。）Biotech needs better champions and authors of its stories。 The industry has transformed healthcare in many ways。 Unfortunately， I’ve read a handful of biotech books， and they’re all the same。 No one can quite master the art of telling an engaging story， translating the science and process to get a drug to market， while also cutting out the fat and unnecessary opinions of those being interviewed。 Maybe better luck next time。 。。。more
Tammy Simons
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Very helpful on understanding how the medical field truly is and how everything revolves around the mighty dollar。
Lois Whiteheaf
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I am on a leukemia drug discussed in the book。 It was interesting to read the process that led to its development and approval。 I was in the clinical trial for a long time。
Anita Lawson
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As someone with a rare blood cancer who has taken Imbruvica for 9 years， I found this fascinating！ Patients rarely get insights into the development of the medications they take。 The detailing of finances involved explains why the drug that keeps me alive is so expensive。
Michael
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A great book that explores how new drugs are developed and brought to market。 It examines the people and companies involved in the process。 It also shows how large investors and hedge funds fund these efforts and can profit enormously。 Unfortunately in this story many of those responsible for the development and success get left out of the spotlight and sometimes profit very little。 This was a very eye opening book for me。 The author has done a fantastic job of presenting the story in a very rea A great book that explores how new drugs are developed and brought to market。 It examines the people and companies involved in the process。 It also shows how large investors and hedge funds fund these efforts and can profit enormously。 Unfortunately in this story many of those responsible for the development and success get left out of the spotlight and sometimes profit very little。 This was a very eye opening book for me。 The author has done a fantastic job of presenting the story in a very readable and understandable form。 I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway。 。。。more
Shann Yu
，
Even seasoned biotech/pharma insiders will learn something new from this riveting story of the people， trials， challenges， and surprising drama in the story of Imbruvica vs Calquence。
Meredith
，
I think that everyone that works at cancer centers should read this book。 It was a fascinating look into the development of breakthrough treatments and the unbelievable amount of money that investors and pharmaceutical companies make。 I’m still sorting through all the ethics questions I have after reading this book。
Milissa
，
4。5 stars。 I really enjoyed learning about the “unsung heroes” of BTKis。
Joel Hoeffler
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Interesting backstory to Pharamcyclics and Wall Street’s interest in pharma/biotech。 Also how uninnovative big pharma is。
Jocelynn Pearl， PhD
，
I sped through this one。 Science happens incrementally， but Vardi manages to keep you on the edge of your seat。 I learned so much about the people behind the BTK inhibitor successes; deal flow， meetings， interactions with pharma and what it takes to make these things happen。 A great read for biotech veterans and newbies alike！
BookStarRaven
，
For Blood and Money by Nathan Vardi is an in-depth look at how new drugs are created in Silicon Valley through the hard work of scientists and the investors who back them。 Vardi follows the progress of two biotech startups researching a little know molecule called a BTK inhibitor to treat Leukemia。 Verdi’s storytelling is exceptional and I was invested in the story from beginning to end。 I was able to see how the drive for money and success drove these companies forward on the business side as w For Blood and Money by Nathan Vardi is an in-depth look at how new drugs are created in Silicon Valley through the hard work of scientists and the investors who back them。 Vardi follows the progress of two biotech startups researching a little know molecule called a BTK inhibitor to treat Leukemia。 Verdi’s storytelling is exceptional and I was invested in the story from beginning to end。 I was able to see how the drive for money and success drove these companies forward on the business side as well as the desire for a better drug drove the scientists。 Overall， Verdi’s message was very optimistic。 On the one hand，I enjoy hearing a story that ends in success not scandal but I also think it is not a common story。 Many drugs in the biotech industry will not come to fruition and they investors， wanting a quick return on their investment hurt the science。 I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested In the Silicon Valley， the biotech industry or how new drugs are developed。 。。。more
Brad
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Fantastic book。 Drug developers， investors， everyone in the biotech ecosystem will love it。
Katie/Doing Dewey
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Summary: A fascinating insider look at cancer drug development， full of cool science and people drama！There are few topics I enjoy reading about more than drama at a biotech company。 Bad Blood， about the Theranos blood testing fraud， is still one of my all-time favorite reads。 So， when I was offered a chance to review this story of a startup developing a cancer drug， I couldn't say no。 First this small company developed an incredible cancer treatment。 Then， researchers who were crucial to the co Summary: A fascinating insider look at cancer drug development， full of cool science and people drama！There are few topics I enjoy reading about more than drama at a biotech company。 Bad Blood， about the Theranos blood testing fraud， is still one of my all-time favorite reads。 So， when I was offered a chance to review this story of a startup developing a cancer drug， I couldn't say no。 First this small company developed an incredible cancer treatment。 Then， researchers who were crucial to the company's success， but who were let go before receiving much compensation， went on to found another company and create another successful drug。This story was everything I'd hoped for。 It's full of the high stakes， cool science， and fascinating people that make me love this kind of book。 It read less like a thriller than Bad Blood and there was， fortunately， no fraud。 Still， the author clearly showed how important this story was， both for cancer patients and the scientists involved。 I couldn't put it down！I was surprised to find that the financial side of this story was also interesting to learn about。 The author writes for Forbes and was able to make the business side of the story quite engaging。 I liked getting a better understanding of how funding works for start-ups and venture capitalists。 Watching big companies compete to acquire successful startups was compelling too。 While this wasn't identical in feel to Bad Blood， it had a lot of similar elements， so I'd definitely recommend this to any fellow fans。This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey 。。。more
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for blood and money billionaires biotech and the quest for a blockbuster drug