The Myth Of The Industry Sellout - Benit Maru : 22

“You're actually able to make a difference, not just at your local level or your regional level, but much more on a global level. You know, you may be one of the lucky few that is able to get involved in guideline development and those guidelines are then applicable across the world.’” Benit Maru, Senior Vice President, SSI Strategy “Should I stay or should I go?” You might recognize those words as lyrics from The Clash; however, they also pertain to the decision to stay in academia or join the world of pharma and biotech. What happens when one leaves the sector and role they’ve known to carve out an entirely new career and skills in another? 
This is precisely what Adam Schwartz, Ramin Farhood and Benit Maru discuss in this episode of the Emerging Biotech Leader—a follow up to Episode 21 featuring Victoria Nikklas, Chief Medical Officer at Oak Hill Bio. 
All three members of the SSI team further examine the balancing act needed to transition from academia to industry, once again, acknowledging the misconceptions and impacts of 'selling out.' 
In case you are new to our show, Ramin Farhood is Sr. Vice President of Medical Affairs Practice at SSI and a regular staple and host of the Emerging Biotech Leader. Adam Schawrtz is President of SSI Strategy, guest hosting in Kim Kushner’s absence and Benit Maru is the European Lead and Medical SVP for SSI also serving as a Chief Medical Officer for SSI clients. Today, he’s our special guest expanding upon his 25 years in academia plus 7 more of his career recently spent in industry.
Formal introductions aside, let's dig in to a few of the key concepts covered in this episode. 
Those include:  The benefits of going from academia to industry  How 'guarded optimism' comes into play in developing new therapies Why the knowledge and expertise brought over from academia is essential for the success of the industry Reflections on CMOs and their delicate balance between science and business considerations Embracing the Transition: From Academia to Biotech Much like Victoria Niklas and other podcast guests who have transitioned from academia or bedside medicine to work in pharma and biotech, Benit, too, received his fair share of caution, stigma and discouragement. 
“I was warned, you know, if you leave, you're never going to be able to come back.”
As a byproduct, Adam and Benit hope this ongoing discussion reminds everyone that diverse experiences are the catalyst for long lasting change. When academics or practicing physicians bring their specific experience to industry, by way of career transition, it actually improves innovation which subsequently improves patient outcomes. Ramin weighed in on this as well. 
“I’ve actually seen that individuals are really successful when they make the transition coming from academia and having been a research scientist. When coming into pharma, they become that voice. They almost bridge the industry and academia together in a very powerful and beneficial way for the patient.”
Keeping on this theme of patient impact, Adam probed to get more understanding from Benit on how to silence any guilt or self-doubt. Listen to the episode for his answer. 
A big part in moving forward, that was available to Benit via hindsight, was how rewarding it was to experience an opportunity to expand beyond adult medicine to treatments in the pediatric sector. 
Benit also went on to share: “It is a challenge to think I'm letting patients down by no longer treating them one to one. But, you know, in hindsight, you're not le