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Gene Jockeys is a scholarly and fascinating account of the early days of the biotechnology industry. With lots of technical detail this should appeal to the serious molecular biologists and biotechnologists interested in the roots of their discipline. -- Sir Richard Roberts, New England Biolabs; Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine Following the twists and turns in the experimental paths that yielded the first recombinant drugs, Rasmussen offers a clear view of the difficulties encountered in the application of the new science of recombinant DNA to bacterial synthesis for drug production. His thorough search of legal documents relating to patents enriches this account of the race to market. A tour de force . -- Robert Olby, author of Path to the Double Helix: The Discovery of DNA A fascinating and highly entertaining account-essential not just for historians of business and the life sciences, but also for intellectual property scholars. -- Graham Dutfield, University of Leeds, author of Intellectual Property Rights and the Life Science Industries This is a remarkably original account of the first two decades of the biotechnology industry, when molecular geneticists from academia joined with venture capitalists and hungry investors to form smart and nimble companies. Rasmussen tells a rich and eye-opening story, spotlighting how the first generation of biotechnologists made their firms vital outposts of academic culture and how the firms achieved and marketed blockbuster drugs. In all, an even-handed, informative, and important book. -- Daniel Kevles, Yale University; author of In the Name of Eugenics, The Physicists, and The Baltimore Case Gene Jockeys offers an insightful, comprehensive, and exciting story that faithfully evokes the earliest days of modern biotechnology. An outstanding read for scientists and anyone interested in biotech. -- John Shine AO, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney Although some would assign more societal benefit and importance to the early products of biotech than Rasmussen, the stories of the competition between teams of scientists to produce the first set of human proteins as therapeutics are both exciting and revealing of the faults of mankind. -- Phillip Sharp, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Biology's Day at the Races
1. Biology, Industry, and the Cold War
2. The Insulin Trophy
3. Growing Pains: Commercial Strains on a Way of Life
4. The Interferon Derby: Markets in Credit, Tournaments of Value
5. Epo: The Making of the Biotech Blockbuster
6. tPA: The End of the Beginning
Conclusion: Science, Business, and Medicine in the First Age of Biotech
Cited Sources
Notes
Glossary of Technical Terms
Index

About the Author

Nicolas Rasmussen is a professor of humanities at the University of New South Wales. His most recent book is On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine.

Reviews

Biologist and science historian Nicolas Rasmussen delicately unravels the tangled fibres of discovery, entrepreneurship and lab life in the first decades of genetic engineering... An engaging, ultimately elegiac tale of lost innocence, as researchers struggle with the angel of the search for truth on one shoulder, and the devil of wealth and fame on the other. -- Nathaniel Comfort Nature This provides an engrossing blend of technical survey and business history reconmmended for science and business collections alike! Midwest Book Review An engaging, informative work appropriate for general readers and beginning students of molecular biology or biotechnology. Choice Gene Jockeys deftly conveys a sense of the excitement and technical challenges of this time when free-wheeling scientists pursued their passions in newly evolving commercial settings. -- Jonathan Khan Journal of American History Scholars generally should appreciate Rasmussen's careful research and the wide sweep of source material that he references in extensive notes. -- Sally Smith Hughes Social History of Medicine Rasmussen achieves admirably what he sets out to accomplish... Gene Jockeys will be the go-to source on the history of the biotech industry for some time to come, and particularly regarding the scientific and legal developments on which that industry's growth rested. -- Elizabeth Popp Berman American Historical Review