From Concept to Clinic and Commercialization: Cowboys Wanted

The purpose of this chapter is threefold. Firstly, it is an honor to be included in this Festschrift, a recognition and celebration of the enormous contribution Professor Richard Baum has made to the field of nuclear medicine. I would like to write a few words as to why Richard’s contribution to nuclear medicine and theranostics has been so important from a commercial perspective, and why we need more innovators like him. Secondly, I want to review some of the reasons why, despite enormous potential, the field of nuclear medicine has not been as commercially successful as it could be, and the pitfalls we must address in order to deliver in the future. Finally, I’d like to highlight some of the areas that I am most excited about from a commercial perspective that will likely define the field over the next decade. I’ve spent 20 years hunting money for imaging and nuclear medicine companies and over that time, through varying degrees of economic prosperity, I have received a great deal of candid feedback about how investors view the nuclear medicine industry. These perceptions offer provocative insights into our industry and I believe they are worth sharing, both for information and entertainment. Not all opinions will garner agreement.