How to behave like a biotech, and what that means.

Dan Caley, Senior Account Manager 

Terms like synthetic biology, biotech, and pharma are almost interchangeable, with subtle nuances between each. However, the biotech investment landscape is currently the most exciting, so what commonalities are there in the communications strategies of companies in this sector? Why do these strategies foster excitement with their audiences? And how do they do this without the hype?

Here we will explore the public perception of a biotech company, and how these companies can bear this in mind when developing their comms strategies, particularly around innovations in the life sciences sector.

What is so special about biotech comms?

Engineering living systems, from viruses to entire ecosystems, is now commonplace. Insulin was the first human protein manufactured using a biotechnology approach back in 1978, and today plans are in place to control malaria through genetically engineered mosquitoes. In the near future, we may be capable of engineering human cells to treat almost any disease, taking inspiration from CAR-T cell therapies, which can essentially cure some cancers. 

Across the life sciences sector, an enormous number of the companies developing, scaling up, and manufacturing these breakthroughs, are marked with labels that can greatly impact the public perception of them. Generally, the role of the communications professionals at these organisations is to create a positive perception - but while many are making positive reputational strides, there are those who face more complex challenges. 

Biotech is exciting. This is not simply the general public's perspective, but investment in the sector has also experienced rapid acceleration - in 2020 alone, UK biotech companies raised £2.8 billion while most of the world was locked down. 

Pharma can be perceived as less exciting. While the pharmaceutical sector enjoyed an upturn in public perception through the successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, a lingering mistrust hangs over pharmaceutical companies, perhaps due to drug pricing concerns, or data sharing protocols. 

From a regulatory perspective, there are clear distinctions in the application, testing, and approvals that inform which agencies a company should engage with, and which accreditation their products should have. But for those working in communications at a life sciences organisation, there are even more options.

Companies describe themselves as biotech, pharma, synthetic biology (synbio), and, confusingly, often a combination of these terms, like biopharma. Biotech is often described as the field where living organisms are engineered to derive products, and pharma tends to be thought of as developing and manufacturing medicines. Clearly, there is a potential overlap here: what happens when a company is deriving medicines from a living organism, for example? 

It is clear that there are certain communications ‘behaviours’ exhibited by biotech companies that have successfully built an engaged audience, and other companies in the life sciences sector stand to benefit by reflecting on these. 

How to behave like a biotech

• Be ambitious about the future, and be realistic about the present

An effective communications approach can create excitement about the impact that your science could have, while avoiding unnecessary hype. What impact could your product have on the field in the next decade? Who stands to benefit in the long term, and how? Answers to these questions will outline the overall future impact of your innovation. One way biotech companies balance against hype in their communications activity is to be transparent and honest about where they are right now. This openness fosters trust. The most effective way to communicate a ‘roadmap’ is by showing a clear end destination, and an arrow stating: ‘You are here’.

• Trust and involve the scientific community

Researchers in the field, both academic and industrial, are capable of fully appreciating the impact of your innovation - it may even benefit some of them directly. By enabling this community to contribute to your communications activity, such as through third-party quotes on press releases or co-attendance at events, you invite their enthusiasm, and their scrutiny. If the science doesn’t hold up or there is misleading hype around the future impact (as seen with Theranos), this community will not wish to be involved. Their presence indicates that the science is robust, and that the project welcomes collaboration. DeepMind’s biggest AlphaFold announcement included third-party quotes from people as prestigious as the President of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan, which told the world that the statement was truly something to be excited about.

• Acknowledge the steps that came before

‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’ is cliche, but the sentiment remains powerful. Highlighting the innovations, breakthroughs, and developments that have informed your discovery not only links your company to historical scientific prestige but also positions said discovery as a continuation of this process. Furthermore, this approach connects you to the wider scientific community, including particular institutions which can carry huge influence in the area. In short, by showing how far we have come, we can better convince others of the long-term impact.