Bill Moyers recently quoted a mentor of his: "News is what people want to keep hidden; everything else is publicity."
Does science truly have a journalistic style publication? Does anyone report on the ebb and flow of information being put forth by scientists? Xconomy sponsors the "Biotech is Back" conference. The WBBA organization holds an annual meeting. "This intense program will be a celebration of our successes, and a discussion of the industry’s current challenges and coming opportunities locally, nationally and globally." One of the speakers is the CEO of Eli Lilly who took control of Washington's largest biotechnology and fired the vast majority of its employees in 2007.
This is of course an example of publicity. The public relations groups include WBBA, Xconomy and the governor. They are the leaders. Who could report on their activity? Objective journalism should come from somewhere but who could gain access into these leaders and tell the story of what they do? This is science and the leaders have set up a system that excludes the sharing of information.
It would go something like this: WBBA hosts annual meeting. Guest speakers include governor Gregiore and the CEO of Eli Lilly. In 2007 Eli Lilly gained complete ownership of Cialis, and promptly shut down Icos operations and laid off Icos personnel, except for 127 employees working at the biologics facility. Icos was the largest biotechnology company in the state of Washington at the time of the acquisition, and employed around 700 people. In December 2007, CMC Biopharmaceuticals A/S, a Copenhagen-based provider of contract biomanufacturing services, bought the Bothell biologics facility and retained the existing 127 employees.
In addition to the layoff of Icos employees, other aspects of the acquisition were equally controversial, such as assertions that Icos was being sold too cheaply and that conflicts of interest existed. The latter related to Icos senior executives, who – despite poor stock performance, in part from failed clinical development programs and an inability to successfully license drugs over the preceding years – were to be massively compensated upon a successful acquisition.
Senior executives at Icos received cash payments worth a combined $67.8 million for selling the company to Eli Lilly. Icos chairman, chief executive, and president Paul Clark received "a 'golden parachute' worth $23.2 million in severance pay, cashed-out stock options, restricted stock awards and other bonuses for retention and closing the deal." Nine senior Icos executives received similar packages, each worth more than $1 million.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Pharmaplasia and Us
What ails the pharmaceutical industry? There are many perspectives. The one from the leaders of Seattle is that nothing ails us. We're doing fine. Then there are the others.
I've just started reading Pharmaplasia by Mike Wokasch. He is coming from the executive level in business and marketing. He has worked as a pharmacist, a pharmaceutical sales representative, marketing manager for blockbuster products, and he has held corporate officer positions at large and small companies. He is passionate about the need for expertise and professionalism in any career choice or job function.
Having yet to read the book, I am skeptical about the marketing side of pharmaceuticals. In Cargo Cult terms, his job is to make people believe that the planes are coming. He does not need to have any idea how a real airport works. After all of the business and marketing meetings are over, you still know absolutely nothing about the natural world or how the human body lives and dies. Yet M. Wakasch has taken an important step. He has admitted that there is a problem. In Cargo Cult terms, he acknowledges that the planes aren't going to be landing as advertised.
There is a distinction that has to be made however. A laboratory scientist is not considered a professional. We do not have the same kind of career paths as executives or marketing professionals. We do not make as much money. We are not expected to grow as laboratory professionals. The layoffs, such as Amgens announcement today, make laboratory workers who serve the R&D side of the industry less than professionals. We learn a skill such as running an ELISA and that becomes our "profession". We serve a piece of the puzzle being assembled by higher ranking PhD scientists who work out of offices. When they fail, we fail. A true professional must have some control over their livelihood. The laboratory professional lives each day in fear of the layoffs that result from not curing cancer. The marketing professional at least has some control over how a product sells, whether is works or not.
The current system is based on the assumption that leaders are the creative types who innovate. Pharmaplasia at least takes on the notion that we have not done well as of late. Here at the Cargo Cult Scientist, we believe that human beings have always had a problem with new and powerful ideas. New and powerful ideas upset the status quo. They elevate true innovators above those who sit comfortably in powerful positions. There is resistance. Imagine sacking the staff who makes the decisions and leaving behind the professionals who can take direction and quickly test the ideas of any leadership. Imagine a research staff held accountable only for executing the experiments set forth by them by the leaders. The outcomes of the experiments must be dealt with intelligently and scientifically by the leadership. When they fail, they shouldn't be allowed to wash it all away by laying off the laboratory staff.
As I read on in Pharmaplasia, I am certain I will find new things to write about. As a former "professional" who was placed into various silos and pigeon holes, I am certain I will be receiving an education as to how those who put me there think. My own inability to effectively communicate with the leaders of my cults is of little concern to me. I see the fallout everyday when I read about "massive layoffs, slowing revenue growth, a major blockbuster “patent cliff”, disappointing R & D productivity, never-ending product liability lawsuits, allegations of illegal marketing and sales activities that lead to billion dollar fines and settlements, and the list goes on" (as stated on the Pharmaplasia website) I know I wasn't exactly wrong about my predictions. I feel we in the industry are average people convinced that we are Einsteins. Certain things prevent us from succeeding but those things can be overcome. You do not hire a group of recent college grads and tell them to go make an airplane. You need experience and not just any experience. You need professionals. Those professionals must then produce new professionals. The most important thing is that the airport works.
I no longer work in the industry. I've moved far from the hubs of biotechnology. Yet I still care. The complexity of the human body makes R&D the most perilous profession out there. Research and development remains an area where human beings will always attempt to employ the scientific method. It is that method and the Cargo Cult Science approach that keeps my interest. I long for the day when we begin to face our failures and learn from them. You can layoff the laboratory staff but you are left with a poorly educated (and I'm not talking about the University education) group of professionals who do the bidding of those who never seem to suffer the consequences of bad science. Good luck to the Amgen R&D folk who have lost their jobs. You are tribesmen. Learn from your experience. Speak out. Tell us what you think went wrong. Read Pharmaplasia. Read. Write. Think. Talk.
I've just started reading Pharmaplasia by Mike Wokasch. He is coming from the executive level in business and marketing. He has worked as a pharmacist, a pharmaceutical sales representative, marketing manager for blockbuster products, and he has held corporate officer positions at large and small companies. He is passionate about the need for expertise and professionalism in any career choice or job function.
Having yet to read the book, I am skeptical about the marketing side of pharmaceuticals. In Cargo Cult terms, his job is to make people believe that the planes are coming. He does not need to have any idea how a real airport works. After all of the business and marketing meetings are over, you still know absolutely nothing about the natural world or how the human body lives and dies. Yet M. Wakasch has taken an important step. He has admitted that there is a problem. In Cargo Cult terms, he acknowledges that the planes aren't going to be landing as advertised.
There is a distinction that has to be made however. A laboratory scientist is not considered a professional. We do not have the same kind of career paths as executives or marketing professionals. We do not make as much money. We are not expected to grow as laboratory professionals. The layoffs, such as Amgens announcement today, make laboratory workers who serve the R&D side of the industry less than professionals. We learn a skill such as running an ELISA and that becomes our "profession". We serve a piece of the puzzle being assembled by higher ranking PhD scientists who work out of offices. When they fail, we fail. A true professional must have some control over their livelihood. The laboratory professional lives each day in fear of the layoffs that result from not curing cancer. The marketing professional at least has some control over how a product sells, whether is works or not.
The current system is based on the assumption that leaders are the creative types who innovate. Pharmaplasia at least takes on the notion that we have not done well as of late. Here at the Cargo Cult Scientist, we believe that human beings have always had a problem with new and powerful ideas. New and powerful ideas upset the status quo. They elevate true innovators above those who sit comfortably in powerful positions. There is resistance. Imagine sacking the staff who makes the decisions and leaving behind the professionals who can take direction and quickly test the ideas of any leadership. Imagine a research staff held accountable only for executing the experiments set forth by them by the leaders. The outcomes of the experiments must be dealt with intelligently and scientifically by the leadership. When they fail, they shouldn't be allowed to wash it all away by laying off the laboratory staff.
As I read on in Pharmaplasia, I am certain I will find new things to write about. As a former "professional" who was placed into various silos and pigeon holes, I am certain I will be receiving an education as to how those who put me there think. My own inability to effectively communicate with the leaders of my cults is of little concern to me. I see the fallout everyday when I read about "massive layoffs, slowing revenue growth, a major blockbuster “patent cliff”, disappointing R & D productivity, never-ending product liability lawsuits, allegations of illegal marketing and sales activities that lead to billion dollar fines and settlements, and the list goes on" (as stated on the Pharmaplasia website) I know I wasn't exactly wrong about my predictions. I feel we in the industry are average people convinced that we are Einsteins. Certain things prevent us from succeeding but those things can be overcome. You do not hire a group of recent college grads and tell them to go make an airplane. You need experience and not just any experience. You need professionals. Those professionals must then produce new professionals. The most important thing is that the airport works.
I no longer work in the industry. I've moved far from the hubs of biotechnology. Yet I still care. The complexity of the human body makes R&D the most perilous profession out there. Research and development remains an area where human beings will always attempt to employ the scientific method. It is that method and the Cargo Cult Science approach that keeps my interest. I long for the day when we begin to face our failures and learn from them. You can layoff the laboratory staff but you are left with a poorly educated (and I'm not talking about the University education) group of professionals who do the bidding of those who never seem to suffer the consequences of bad science. Good luck to the Amgen R&D folk who have lost their jobs. You are tribesmen. Learn from your experience. Speak out. Tell us what you think went wrong. Read Pharmaplasia. Read. Write. Think. Talk.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Why Quit Now?
I've reached my new location. I'm in a secret hiding place where I have decided to keep taking shots at the Cargo Cults of Science.
First news item. Bristol Myers Squibbs drug, Yervoy, has been rejected by the UK Health Cost Agency.
Has Dendreon tried to get approval in the UK? Would it prove to be cost effective? Should the U.S. form a Cost Efficacy Agency within the FDA? Step A, approve or reject a drug. Step B, decide if the government is going to pay for it. If not, let the drug maker sell the approved drug on the free market. As BMSs mission statement goes, "Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global BioPharma company firmly focused on its Mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases." It is their job to deliver $100K+ drugs to people without government or insurance assistance.
News item number 2: Cargo Cult Scientst #1, Hwang Woo Suk has cloned a coyote.
What did we learn from his stem cell scandal? The disgust we may have for him is merely a personal feeling. It is not what motivates science. Yet we are now faced with a profound skepticism that will bring about the scientific method. Did he clone or not? How do we find out? At least we know that a peer review process isn't enough.
Time to grow. Biotech/Pharma drugs are getting too expensive. They are asking the sick and dying to assist them in extracting undue amounts of money from our government and insurance agencies. Hwang Woo Suk is claiming to have cloned again. They have cloned a dog and it is said that this was verified. It is time to see him hired by Geron. Assemble the same people who gave him the stamp of approval for his stem cell work and let them try again.
First news item. Bristol Myers Squibbs drug, Yervoy, has been rejected by the UK Health Cost Agency.
About 30 percent of patients treated with the drug would have improved survival, with 10 percent potentially experiencing long-term benefits, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said in a statement today, citing clinical specialists.
The drug costs about 80,000 pounds ($125,600) per patient, said the agency, known as NICE, which advises the National Health Service on whether drugs provide value for money. Yervoy is the first medicine proven to extend the lives of patients with advanced melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.
Has Dendreon tried to get approval in the UK? Would it prove to be cost effective? Should the U.S. form a Cost Efficacy Agency within the FDA? Step A, approve or reject a drug. Step B, decide if the government is going to pay for it. If not, let the drug maker sell the approved drug on the free market. As BMSs mission statement goes, "Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global BioPharma company firmly focused on its Mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases." It is their job to deliver $100K+ drugs to people without government or insurance assistance.
News item number 2: Cargo Cult Scientst #1, Hwang Woo Suk has cloned a coyote.
What did we learn from his stem cell scandal? The disgust we may have for him is merely a personal feeling. It is not what motivates science. Yet we are now faced with a profound skepticism that will bring about the scientific method. Did he clone or not? How do we find out? At least we know that a peer review process isn't enough.
Time to grow. Biotech/Pharma drugs are getting too expensive. They are asking the sick and dying to assist them in extracting undue amounts of money from our government and insurance agencies. Hwang Woo Suk is claiming to have cloned again. They have cloned a dog and it is said that this was verified. It is time to see him hired by Geron. Assemble the same people who gave him the stamp of approval for his stem cell work and let them try again.
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