Mastering the value chain: An interview with Mark Levin of millennium pharmaceuticals

As today's business leaders are all too aware, a new scientific or technological breakthrough can quickly transform an industry's competitive landscape. The upheaval is often traumatic for the companies involved, forcing them to rethink their strategies and redefine their boundaries. But an industry in flux also creates vast opportunities. To seize them, companies must see how the current upheavals will affect the future distribution of profits-and then reinvent themselves to capitalize on the new sources of value. In this interview with HER senior editor David Champion, Mark Levin, the founder and CEO of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, describes his vision of the future of the pharmaceutical industry in the wake of the genetics revolution and new technologies that have altered the economics of drug development No company, he argues, will create serious long-term value by staying in lust one or two stages of the value chain. That's why Millennium, which started out doing basic research into genes and proteins and selling its findings to pharmaceutical giants, has moved downstream toward the patients who actually use and pay for the drugs. He explains why the research end has become less lucrative than the more mechanical tasks of identifying, testing and manufacturing molecules. Levin talks about the changes Millennium has undergone since its inception in 1993-from 30 workers to more than 1,000, and from one end of the value chain to the other. He discusses the company's cultural transformations as well as the partnerships and acquisitions that have helped Millennium become involved in every stage of the chain-from gene to patient Levin's vigorous approach to balancing long-term strategy with short-term tactics offers important lessons to any executive facing an industry upheaval.