I
t was seven years ago at LabAutomation in San Jose, Calif.,when we introduced an innovative concept in our market: a monthly newspaperdedicated to the news of technology and business in the pharmaceutical andbiotechnology industries. Industry friends and competitors alike wished usluck, but we knew what they were really thinking: "Lots of luck!" It was acrowded market for publications covering drug discovery, but as time went on,many of those publications merged, folded or cut their services toreaders—while ddn continued to investin our readership.
From publishing our single newspaper in January 2005 tocelebrating our eighth year in 2012, ddncontinues to produce many vehicles that disseminate the news. Knowing thatpeople get their information from more than one source, we offer many fullyintegrated "touch points" to deliver the news. This year, we will offer 15sources of news to our readers and several marketing vehicles to ouradvertisers.
Of note, in October, we launched the ddn Cancer Research Portal, which houses all of our reporting onthe latest oncology research news, trends and resources. We are also preparingto launch a second specialty news portal for what is quickly becoming the focusof much of our news coverage: stem cell research. Both news portals are asignificant investment because these news websites are independent of ddn's homepage, www.drugdiscoverynews.com,and represent the tremendous spike we have experienced in news related to theseresearch areas in the past two years.
In the coming months, you will also see original editorialin these news portals that you will not find in any of our other news vehicles.Our newly appointed Senior Editor Kelsey Kaustinen will direct the content ofthe ddn Cancer Research Portal, andvery shortly, she will launch two initiatives that will shine a light on thetop cancer research institutions in the United States, as well as recognize thenation's top postdoctoral students doing work in this area. We will besoliciting nominations from our readers, and a cross-disciplinary panel ofjudges will choose the winners, whom we'll recognize in issues later this year.
In August 2011, we launched another news division, ddn Market Research, in which we teamedup with Mizuho Securities to periodically survey ddn's readers on current trends in life science research. InAugust, we examined reader perceptions on the stem cell research market. InDecember, we shared the results of our joint survey on trends in the contractresearch market. This month, we discuss the results of a recent survey onreader opinions of tools and technology. We will continue to conduct surveysand share this meaningful market research with you once per quarter.
In addition, starting with this issue, we have partneredwith market research firm Frost & Sullivan to provide the content for ourmonthly Facts & Figures page. This month, in keeping with our focus ontools and technology and the annual SLAS conference, we are sharing the resultsof a Frost & Sullivan report on array technology adoption and utilization.We will spotlight a different industry-leading Frost & Sullivan report eachmonth.
There is other good news to report: Randy Willis is back!After taking a sabbatical "up north" for a few years, our former executiveeditor returns this month (and subsequently in odd-numbered months) with hiswit and unique perspective on subjects ranging from alternative therapeuticmedicine to the diagnostic revolution. Whatever the subject, Randy truly thinksoutside of the box.
As a journalism organization that follows the ebbs and flowsof the news, we have also altered our scope of coverage in response to the vastchanges occurring in the industries we cover. For example, this year, our"Instruments & Informatics" department is now "Tools & Technology" toreflect a growing focus on the equipment being used in drug discovery and howit is shaping the way pharmaceutical business is conducted.
While early in our history, ddn focused on mergers and acquisitions—which continue to reshapethis market—ddn's journalists alsofind themselves increasingly reporting on collaborations and licensing dealsbetween companies of all sizes and specialties, technology providers andacademic institutions, all of which are expected to have significant clinicalimplications in the next decade or so. While we continue to develop newsproducts in response to these trends, our monthly print newspaper will remainthe "mother ship" of our rapidly growing company. We'll celebrate our roots aswe integrate our newspaper with our many other vehicles.
We have been very fortunate to have the 20 people whocontribute each month to our operation, and we're thankful for the loyalreadership and advertisers who have fueled this growth in the past eight years.Here's to a new year and even more growth for all of us.
Timeline of ddn's news vehicle launches
January 2005 Firstprint issue
April 2005 www.drugdiscoverynews.com
July 2005 ddn Online bimonthly e-newsletters
January 2008 E-New Product Showcase, WhitePapers and Application Notes
March 2009 New, interactive website
April 2009 Digital international edition
January 2010 ddn Special Reports
August 2010 ddn Blog
November 2010 Monthly E-Table of Contents
January 2011 Monthly E-Top 5 Stories
February 2011 MonthlyE-top 5 Cancer Research Stories
August 2011 ddn Market Research
September 2011 Firstwebinar and ddn Cancer Research Portal
Summer 2012 ddn Stem Cell Research Portal
