Corporate partnerships are key, Part II

In today's Motley Fool I had an article published entitled: A Ray of Hope for Flamel. Although I am a shareholder in Flamel, I am not overly optimistic about its future prospects for growth. About the only thing that will cause me to become more bullish is an announcement that a major pharmaceutical company has agreed to partner with Flamel in its use of Flamel's Medusa technology. The company's recent announcement that its technology has demonstrated positive results means very little.

My point -- and I can't stress this enough to would-be investors -- is that for the majority of nanotechnology companies partnerships are more important than technology. They are even more important than having a viable product.

Jack Uldrich

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Corporate partnerships are key

Corporate partnerships are key

In today's Motley Fool I had an article published entitled: TINY Magnifies its Hunt. It is primarily about Harris & Harris -- the publicly traded venture capital firm specializing in nanotechnology -- but it highlights two of its portfolio companies -- Molecular Imprints and Kereos.

In addition to their technology, what I like about both companies is the fact that they are already partnering with major corporations. In Molecular Imprints case, it is working with Hewlett-Packard and Motorola; and Keroes is working with Dow Chemical and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

I like such relationships because too many nanotech start-ups fall prey to the belief that their technology will be enough to gain them marketplace acceptance. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Establishing a foothold in the commercial marketplace is difficult even for established companies and it can be down-right nasty for small start-ups. One of the best ways to get around this reality is to establish relationships with those major corporations who are already working in the field.

Such partnerships won't necessarily guarantee profitably or success ... but it puts those companies that do have partnerships light years ahead of those that don't have any.

Jack Uldrich

Not sexy, but profitable

In today's Motley Fool I had an article published entitled: Nanotech's Promise Hits the Pedal. It is primarily about Accelrys but it reiterates a point I have long been making--the first companies to make money in the field are not necessarily going to be those working on disruptive technologies, they are going to be those doing more more mundane things.

Improving glass, plastic and other materials might not sound very sexy but -- at least in the short run -- companies producing such advances will make for better investments.

Jack Uldrich