Commercial productivity is the payoff when firms provide scientists with a comfortably collegiate professional environment
In the biotechnology industry sector, this strategy--geared to, among other things, making their companies more inviting to talented young scientists--has paid off impressively for several firms.
"We've seen that we're competing with academic institutions for the kinds of scientists that we have," says Daniel Vapnek, senior
vice president for research at Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif. "And it turns out that the kind of environment that we maintain is, in a lot of ways, like an academic environment."
Says Doug Williams, vice president and director of biological sciences for Immunex Corp., Seattle: "We have kept our good young investigators happy by enabling them to publish their findings and go to scientific meetings and be recognized by the scientific community at large, as opposed to just being recognized within the organization.
"That, I think, has helped ...
