Broaden your audience, analyst tells biotechs

Biotechnology companies need to widen the audiences they pitch their messages to, industry analyst David Blake, of BioShares, told attendees at a BioMelbourne Network breakfast meeting today.

"You have to go beyond the audiences you think you want to talk to," said Blake.

He noted that while it was important to communicate with stakeholders including shareholders, regulatory bodies, and potential investors, companies needed to also develop messages for consumers, non-investors, and society's decision makers, including policy makers. And companies should not ignore other economic sectors either.

It was also important to develop positive relationships with the media, and not just with the business-focused media, Blake said. Negative images had the potential to affect the whole industry, not just one company, he said.

"If you can't describe the benefits to all of these audiences, then you should get out of the game," Blake said.