In a couple of recent posts I wrote about the current landscape of life science podcasts, and highlighted some of the consistently highest rated ones, and some of the podcasts that deserve a second look.
One thing has become readily apparent though, is that even with the variety of podcasts currently available, there are a number of “holes” in the marketplace that could be addressed and would stand a good chance of finding an audience.
Opportunity 1 – This Week In Cancer
Vincent Racaniello’s This Week In Microbiology and This Week in Virology are both outstanding podcasts and really highlight the value of bringing recent developments in a field of study to both a professional and a lay audience. These podcasts strike that balance well, and I think there’s a real market for a similar “This Week In Cancer” podcast. Something which highlights discoveries in a wide range of cancers, and draws on the large cancer research and drug discovery communities.
While are some excellent podcasts that focus on cancer, they often focus either on a specific indication (like the Investigating Breast Cancer podcast) or a specific therapeutic classes (like Novel Targets). This may be an indication that cancer is too broad a topic for any one podcast to really do it justice, but having a podcast that draws on experts from the major NCI cancer centers, pharmaceutical companies, and academic research centers would bring a multidisciplinary perspective to cancer.
Funding sources for such a podcast could come from pharmaceutical companies, cancer centers, biotech companies
Opportunity 2 – Focused Nature Podcasts
While I enjoy the weekly Nature Podcast, I find that it broad and unfocused, since it draws on a number of Nature journals and general science news. I would really like to see smaller more tightly focused podcasts from Nature. Imagine a Nature Cancer podcast that draws on materials from Nature Cancer and Nature Cancer Reviews, or a Nature Biotechnology or Nature Drug Discovery podcast. Something that does a deeper dive into these topics than your average general science podcast can do. We have some really great science podcasts like Science Friday, This Week In Science, The Guardian Science Weekly, and BBC Inside Science podcasts so adding another general science podcast doesn’t really make much sense. A podcast which is much more focused on the research that appears in Nature journals would make more sense.
Opportunity 3 – The Business of Life Science
Notwithstanding the rather spotty publishing history of the FierceBiotech podcast, we need a podcast that covers the business of life science and publishes on a regular basis. News about the players both big and small in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. News about the deals, the discoveries, and the personalities. There’s plenty to discuss, and plenty of print resources to draw on including Xconomy, FierceBiotech, FiercePharma, PharmaTimes, and Forbes just to name a few.
Opportunity 4 – Community Driven Podcasting
In the US, there are 3 major biotech centers: Boston, San Francisco, and San Diego. Having a podcast that focuses on each center with news and interviews with representatives from companies in those areas would make it easier for people to keep up with the latest news on local companies, and identify potential partners.