Over the past four decades, David Beier has observed and participated in the evolution of the US biotechnology industry for several key vantage points. The industry’s success and freedom to innovate, he says, has been underpinned by – and helped create – a marketplace that was open enough to fully reward risk-taking investors devoting capital to cutting edge science. Today, that success faces new threats.

A conversation with former Pfizer research head John LaMattina about the persistence of the misperception that NIH invents the drugs that biopharma companies sell, the chance encounters that can lead to breakthroughs years or even decades later, and the tough math facing investors and heads of research across the industry when deciding whether to invest in a project that’ll only enjoy nine years of market exclusivity.