David Craig, a biotechnology founder and longtime industry operator, has released 'The New Rules of Biotech: A Founder’s Guide to Building Great Companies' in hardcover and audiobook formats. The hardcover edition is priced at $29.99, and the audiobook is available on Google Play, joining the previously released paperback ($21.99) and Kindle ($11.99) editions on Amazon.
The book argues that the biotech playbook from 2021 is no longer effective. Capital has become more expensive, the FDA's standards have shifted, and the Inflation Reduction Act has altered the economics of drug development before approval. Investors now demand capital efficiency and a clear path to value, rather than funding speculative slide decks. Craig’s book serves as an operating manual for building companies under these new conditions.
Drawing on his experience founding and running a preclinical biotech company, Craig provides practical guidance on key decisions: choosing between a platform and an asset, selecting an affordable modality, raising seed rounds based on milestones rather than hope, and using non-dilutive capital strategically. The book covers the entire company-building process, from IND-enabling work and CMC to clinical decisions, term sheets, board management, business development, and exits such as acquisitions and IPOs.
Each chapter concludes with takeaways tailored for operators and separate insights for investors and advisors, making the book useful for both sides of the table. The audiobook version allows listeners to absorb the material on the go.
Craig founded his company partly due to a family connection to RYR-1 related congenital muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic muscle disease. This personal motivation underscores the book’s argument that biotech company building carries a responsibility beyond financial returns.
'Founders and operators take in ideas in different ways,' said David Craig. 'The hardcover is there for the people who want a durable copy on the desk, the paperback and Kindle for everyone else, and the audiobook on Google Play for those who prefer to listen on the move. The message is the same across all of them: build for the market that exists now, not the one that existed in 2021.'
The book is published by D. Craig Consulting LLC and is available at major retailers. For more details, visit the Amazon listings for hardcover, paperback, and Kindle, or the audiobook on Google Play.
