Reimagining Biotech: The 90-10 Institute Summit

Over the past 16 months, we had the privilege to partner with the 90-10 Institute on the De Novo Design of Biotech for Society—an ambitious effort to reimagine the biotechnology ecosystem from the ground up. This vision was inspired by historical precedents where professionals led change from within as demonstrated by The Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA and The Belmont Report, rather than through external policies, 

The 90-10 Institute takes its name from the following jarring reality: of the roughly 10,000 defined diseases, only 10% are adequately addressed through diagnosis, prevention, or treatment, and it’s primarily those that generate high profitability. The Institute’s mission is to change this equation, moving beyond today’s high-cost, high-profit, often low-productivity model toward one that transforms underutilized scientific and medical advancements into accessible, cost-effective medicines without compromising safety, quality, or sustainability.

The Process

Engaging Blue Ocean strategic principles, Sowen partnered with the 90-10 team to design a phased roadmap to translate the 90-10 Institute’s vision into reality.  Over the span of a few months, we identified and recruited participants from six key sectors—Patients, Biotech, Finance, Government, Payer, and Academia, honing in on individuals whose insights and creativity would be essential to this work. We then designed and facilitated virtual pre-summit worksessions to start generating ideas: exploring the current state of the industry, imagining new solutions, and defining the roles each sector must play in a transformed biotech ecosystem. Each session built momentum toward the in-person Summit, where this extraordinary group of thinkers, innovators, and leaders could connect across disciplines and begin shaping the vision for a De Novo Design of Biotech for Society.

The Summit

At the end of July, we convened our cross-sector cohort for a two-day gathering in Berkeley in partnership with the UC Berkeley Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public .The Summit centered on five Design Concepts, which are cross-sector strategic frameworks built from six months of pre-summit collaboration. Over two days, participants rotated through mixed-sector groups, refining these concepts into actionable ideas. The conversations were candid and creative, exploring everything from how municipal bonds could finance public health innovation, to new governance models that keep patient needs, not profit, at the center of the design, to making past research setbacks openly available so others can build on lessons learned and avoid repeating the same dead ends.

What emerged was a clear sense of possibility: the capacity to design a new biotech ecosystem that is collaborative, transparent, and anchored in public benefit. As one participant reflected, “What an amazing group of talented, thoughtful, and compassionate leaders coming together to do big bold courageous work… The key will be to bring the ideas and observations into actionable strategies. Few, focus, finish.” Another noted, “I have never been part of anything like this before… and who knew I would come out of this a huge fan of municipal bonds?”

We are incredibly proud to have partnered with the 90-10 Institute on this groundbreaking initiative. Over the past year, we’ve seen first-hand the courage, creativity, and commitment of the participants who stepped forward to imagine a better future for biotech as well as the pure grit and imagination of the 90-10 team to bring this to life.