Bio Job Blog

Layoff Alert: GlaxoSmithKline Reveals Jobs Will Be Eliminated at UK Facility

BioJobBlogger — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:10:55 -0500

After announcing that it would lay off about 4,000 workers two weeks and then refusing to disclose which facilities would be affected, the British drug maker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today revealed that several hundred workers at it Harlow, Essex facility will lose their jobs.

The Harlow facility, formerly the headquarters of SmithKlineBeecham which was taken over by Glaxo almost 10 years ago, is located 25 miles (40 km) northeast of London. Although not confirmed, as many as 380 of the 1,1150 employees at the facility may lose their jobs.

Stay tuned for more GSK layoff updates!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

The Job Search: Things to Avoid if You Want to Get Hired!

BioJobBlogger — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:00:17 -0500

In previous posts, I have mainly focused on job search strategies and behaviors designed to increase the likelihood of either getting a face-to-face job interview or a job offer.

Today, I want to focus on behaviors and strategies that jobseekers must AVOID at all costs during a job search. In a CareerBuilder.com poll, more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resources professionals were asked to identify some of the more egregious mistakes that jobseekers (most notably recent college graduates) making during the application and interviewing process. Poll results per centages and associated commentary and advice were originally posted on the Pongo Resume blog.

1. Acting bored or cocky (69%)
This sounds familiar. We had someone interviewing at Pongo recently who seemed pretty good, but two or three people used the word "cocky" to describe the person's attitude. (Our managers, like those at many companies, solicit opinions from everybody who comes in contact with a job candidate, not just those in the interview room – hint, hint.) If you're a new college graduate, it's important to realize that you may have been the coolest kid on campus a few months ago, but today you’re an unproven beginner. A positive, respectful attitude is one way to set you apart. Confident = good. Cocky = bad.

2. Not dressing appropriately (65%)
Your interview attire, like your attitude, says a lot about whether you're serious about proving yourself, or just think you're entitled to the job because you're you. Your clothing should be clean, pressed, and modest. As they say in middle school, no visible boxers, bellies, or boobs.

3. Coming to the interview with no knowledge of the company (59%)
There's no excuse for not researching an organization that's considering hiring you. They have a web site; use it to learn what they do, who they are, what they specialize in. Google the executives' names (after all, they'll be Googling you; see #8, below).

4. Not turning off cell phones or electronic devices (57%)
Frankly, I'm surprised this isn’t No. 1. If you accidentally leave your phone on and it rings during the interview, don't get flustered and start babbling, "OMG, I can't believe I did that!" Offer a brief, sincere apology, turn off the phone (without checking who it is), then carry on professionally as if nothing happened.

5. Not asking good questions during the interview (50%)
If you don't ask anything, you must not be interested. That's what the hiring manager will assume. This is a place where you supposedly want to spend most of your waking hours for the next couple years or more. You must want to know something. Besides, there are certain questions you should always ask.

6. Asking what the pay is before the company considered them for the job (39%)
Mentioning salary in a first interview is like asking your crush what s/he plans to spend on you during your relationship – before you've even agreed on a second date. You have to flirt and make sure they're attracted to you before you ask about a financial commitment.

7. Spamming employers with the same resume and/or cover letter (23%)
This guy John really, really wants to work for Company A, so he applies for every job opening Company A posts, whether he's qualified or not. Annoyed by John's never-ending resume spam, Company A's recruiters unofficially blacklist him (although if asked, they'll deny it). Don't be like John. Tailor your resume for the one or two jobs at your target company that align with your skills.

8. Failure to remove unprofessional photos/content from social networking pages, Web pages, blogs, etc. (20%)
Dude, you will be Googled. Employers today use every means at their disposal to uncover red flags that might foretell a bad hire. So, hide all Internet evidence of your past (and present) indiscretions.

While many of these not-so-smart behaviors may appear to be obvious, the percentages of new jobseekers who engage in them would suggest otherwise. The job market is extremely tight at the moment and the competition for jobs is the fiercest it has been in last 50 years. Don’t give hiring managers an excuse to not hire you by engaging in the above mentioned behaviors and practices!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

Rare Disease Day: FDA to Offer Orphan Drug Development Workshop

BioJobBlogger — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:05:31 -0500

A rare or orphan disease is defined in the US as one that affects fewer than 200,000 at any given time. It is estimated that there are 6000 to 8000 rare diseases in the world today. Because the number of patients afflicted with orphan diseases is so small, drug companies have historically been reluctant to invest money to discover and develop new treatments for them. The dearth of treatments for rare diseases induced Congress to pass the Orphan Drug Act in 1983 which provided market exclusivity, tax breaks and incentives and regulatory help for companies to development new drugs for orphan disease indications.

While many current blockbuster drugs including recombinant human insulin, growth hormone and erythropoietin originally garnered regulatory approval after receiving orphan status in the late 1980s, most big pharma and biotechnology companies (except Genzyme) largely abandoned orphan drug development until recently. The renewed interest in orphan drug development has been primarily driven by the demise of big pharma’s blockbuster business model that began in the early 2000s. The search for new, non-blockbuster drugs and fresh markets is what induced Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, to recently inked a multimillion dollar deal with Protalix Biotherapeutics, a small biopharmaceutical company developing a new treatment for Gaucher disease—an orphan indication.

Because of renewed interest and the ever increasing need for new orphan drugs, the FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development is offering an Orphan Drug Designation Workshop that will provide a unique opportunity for all potential drug sponsors—including biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical firms and academic institutions—to learn about the application process for orphan drug designation.

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is a co-sponsor of the workshops, which will take place on February 25-26 at Keck Graduate Institute and August 3-4 at the University of Minnesota.

Participants are encouraged to bring specific product proposals for at least one candidate orphan drug that holds promise for the treatment of a rare disease. A significant portion of the workshop will be dedicated to preparing applications, including one-on-one guidance sessions with FDA staff members. FDA will keep product and disease information confidential.

Final applications can be submitted to the FDA at the close of each workshop. For information or to register:

FDA Workshop Brochure
Registration for the February Workshop

Finally, February 28^th is Rare Disease Day. The event is sponsored by the EURODIS a European advocacy group that promotes awareness and research for rare diseases. NORD and Discovery Health are also sponsoring the day.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

The Job Search: How to Stand Out in the Crowd

BioJobBlogger — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:07:06 -0500

It goes without saying that the competition for jobs in the life sciences industry is extremely fierce. This means that job candidates must use whatever means possible to differentiate themselves from the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others applying for the same job!

While I have written numerous posts on how job candidates can stand out from their peers, I discovered an insightful article that summarizes my advice in a single post. Like I said, there are no revelations here; just a convenient way to jog your memory as the job search slogs on!

Click here to read the post.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

Top 50 Healthcare and Medical IT Blogs

BioJobBlogger — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:15:33 -0500

Healthcare informatics (HCI) is one of the fastest growing professions in the US. This is because the Obama administration has allocated billions of stimulus dollars to create electronic healthcare records (EHR) in an attempt to reduce healthcare costs. To qualify for EHR stimulus monies organizations must develop a plan and then take steps to implement it! Not surprisingly, because of the short ramp up phase for EHR, the number of available jobs far outstrips the numbers of qualified and skilled employees to fill them.

The acute shortage of qualified HCI employees resulted in a cover story in the December 2009 issue of Health Informatics entitled “Got People?” It is a great read and provides insights into the types of employees that HCI companies are looking to hire. The EHR Initiative will likely create over 500,000 new jobs in the next few years. For those of you, who may be interested in pursuing a career in HCI, check out this list of the top 100 HCI companies to work for.

While there is a growing need for qualified persons to work in HIT, the field resembles a rapidly moving target with emphasis on different aspects shifting almost daily. To that end, it is extremely important to stay abreast of this rapidly changing industry. There is no shortage of bloggers in the HIT space and the Health Sensei over at the Health Sense Blog recently compiled a list of the top 50 HIT blogs that are worth following to stay abreast of the field. As an added benefit, the list is broken down into individual specialties within HIT.

Those of you who are already working in the field or considering HIT as a career choice ought to check out the list!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

One-Hundred Year Old Scotch Whisky Found in Antarctica

BioJobBlogger — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:35:45 -0500

I was introduced to single malt Scotch whisky about six years ago after my in-laws returned from a distillery tour of Scotland. Never a scotch drinker, after sampling a variety of brands, I decided that Islay single malts, most notably Lagavulin and Caol Ila, were my favorites. Over the past few years, several of my friends and I have been searching for the ultimate single malt.I thought that the Macallan 30 year old that my father-in-law received for his 90th birthday was pretty special.

Imagine my surprise after learning that a team of New Zealand scientists recovered five crates of 100 year old Mackinlay’s whisky from the ice below an Antarctic hut once used by the famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. While Mackinlay is a blend whisky and not a single malt, its age alone is extraordinary and impressive! Although some of the bottles had cracked because of the ice, the team who found them - restorers working on the hut - said they were sure the crates contained intact bottles "given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved".

Whyte & Mackay, which owns the McKinlay brand and supplied the whisky for Shackleton, launched the bid to recover the bottles for samples to test and decide whether to relaunch the defunct spirit. The drinks group's master blender Richard Paterson described the find as "a gift from the heavens for whisky lovers". He added,

"If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analyzed, the original blend may be able to be replicated"

"Given the original recipe no longer exists, this may open a door into history."

Shackleton's expedition ran short of supplies on its long ski trek to the South Pole from the northern Antarctic coast in 1907-1909 and turned back about 100 miles short of its goal.

His loss—our gain!

Glaxo Continues to Remain Tight-lipped About Looming Job Cuts

BioJobBlogger — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:43:16 -0500

Many people, most notably GlaxoSmithKline employees, assumed that GSK management would disclose at its earning call yesterday how many people would lose their jobs in the company’s next round of job cuts announced earlier this week. Surprisingly, management decided not to announce the breadth and depth of layoffs ostensibly increasing the drama and anxiety of its employees about the cuts.

Management’s decision not to disclose the number of employees who would lose their jobs after publicly announced that it would cut up to 4,000 jobs means one of two things according to Jim Edwards of the BNET blog.

“Either that GSK itself has not finished calculating it; or that management believes there’s some sort of PR advantage to not actually saying out loud what everyone already knows.”

Based on public statements made by GSK spokespeople, Edwards has identified several vulnerable areas where jobs are likely to be cut. These include R&D across the board and one therapeutic area, neuroscience. According to bloggers and insiders who leaked information to the public, the asthma drug Advair may be at risk, as well as metabolic disease product development and sales representatives. Also, there will be reporting structure changes and less emphasis will be place on new product launches in the US. The recent decision to not seek US regulatory approval for GSK’s new, pneumococcal vaccine Synflorix, despite garnering EU approval tends to substantiate this idea.

Elimination of neuroscience as a therapeutic area of interest for GSK was clearly enunciated when the company mentioned during the earnings call

“Today, we have announced proposals to cease discovery research in selected neuroscience areas, including depression and pain.”

Today, GSK announced that it would close a research center in Verona Italy that specializes in neuroscience research. Approximately 500 workers will lose their jobs after the facility is closed. Unions representing the Italian workers also disclosed in an e-mail message that six facilities worldwide besides Verona will also be closed by GSK.

Less obvious, but clearly written between the lines was the statement made about R&D.

"We have ‘externalised’ approximately 30% of GSK’s discovery research. We are already conducting discovery research with 47 external partners. Our goal is to further increase the level of externally sourced compounds in our pipeline …"

"… We are also looking to reduce R&D infrastructure costs."

Perhaps what may be most troubling to GSK employees who ultimately lose their jobs is the $900 million or more spent on legal fees over the past year. GSK didn’t disclose why the company had incurred such enormous legal bills.

The recent spate of layouts doesn’t mean that any big pharma companies are in financial trouble. As previously mentioned, most of the layoffs are based on future economic predictions and projections which may or may not be realized. Companies are cutting staff and implementing cost savings measures simply to bolster their stock prices and give investors their expected ROI. The economic downturn has provided pharma companies with excellent cover to downsize at will without anybody asking any tough questions. While I feel the pain of workers who have either lost or soon will lose their jobs, the downsizing taking place over the past three years has been a long time in the making. I suspect that many well paid veteran employees turned a blind eye to the internal changes and cues that may have signaled their ultimate demise.

While downsizing will likely have its anticipated short term effects i.e. bolster flagging stock share prices, it will ultimately hurt the future economic prospects of most big pharma companies. This is because pharma companies will lose many of the talented and experienced workers whose previous hard work and sacrifices contributed to their past successes. When are the overpaid pharma executives going to realize that it is the rank and file, not them that bring creativity, innovation and ultimately financial rewards to their stakeholders?

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

Bristol Myers Squibb: Downsizing With a Twist

BioJobBlogger — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:53:38 -0500

The past couple of weeks have been awful for employees at AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline after both companies announced massive worldwide layoffs. Interestingly, the downsizing that has taken place at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in recent years has escaped notice; mainly because media attention has been focused on the sale of two of its non-pharmaceutical divisions, Convatec and Mead Johnson. The sale of these two divisions brought in roughly $8.0 billion giving BMS one of the largest cash reserves among major pharmaceutical companies.

BMS announced two years ago that is would cut its global work force by 10 percent by 2011. Layoffs and cost cutting measures at BMS have been mainly driven by the impending patent expiry of the blockbuster anti-clotting agent Plavix and several other drugs. Plavix reportedly accounts for a disproportionate amount of the company’s annual sale revenues. Despite its new found largess, the company continues to eliminate jobs and shed employees. To make matters worse, BMS confirmed today (as reported on both Pharmalot and the WSJ Health Blog) that it will eliminate pay raises in 2010 for the people who still have jobs at the company. Luckily, bonuses were not eliminated. But as most people who work at big companies will tell you, bonuses are not guaranteed and discretionary. Check out the 2008 total compensation packages (salary, stock options, stock awards, pension etc).

2008 Total Compensation for BMS Executives
Name	Title	Compensation ($)
James Cornelius	CEO/Chairman of the Board	25,037,768
Anthony Hooper	Pharmaceutical Division President	6,047,495
Elliot Sigal	Divisional President/CSO/Executive VP	9,643,489
Lamberto Anderottis	COO/Executive VP	10,755,297

While I don’t profess to have the credentials to be the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, it doesn’t make sense to me to freeze the salaries of employees who are already overly anxious about whether or not they will have jobs when the next round of layoffs take place. Isn’t morale already bad enough? Does management think employees will be at the top of their games and willing to work hard if they are constantly worrying whether or not tomorrow may be their last day of work? Of course, naysayers will say that BMS employees should suck it up because they at least have jobs. However, I contend that management ought to invest a portion of the $8.0 billion in its employees rather then use it to buy several more companies to convince Wall Street analysts that BMS is truly a “next generation biopharmaceutical company.” After all, employees are any company’s most valuable asset!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

Cruel and Unusual Punishment: "Debarking" Your Dog

BioJobBlogger — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:40:46 -0500

There was a very disturbing article on the front page of today’s New York Time about an increasingly popular practice of debarking dogs by people who live in urban areas like New York City. Debarking is accomplished by severing a dog’s vocal cords. The practice may be more widespread than reported because of nuisance pet policies imposed on apartment owners by co-op boards in the city. According to the article, the surgery usually leaves the animal with something between a wheeze and a squeak in lieu of a bark.

While I am not a card carrying animal rights activist and find excessive barking annoy, I am a dog owner and a biologist who strongly believes in evolution. And, as far as I am concerned, if dogs weren’t meant to bark they wouldn’t! Taking away a dog’s only means of verbal communication (one of my dogs “whines” when she needs to go out and the doggy door is shut) is, in my opinion, detrimental to a dog’s physical and behavioral well being. As one animal behaviorist said in the article:

“Dogs are usually barking because of some frustration. It’s frustrating to be a sheepdog with no sheep. What I’d be concerned about is, if you are debarking a dog and it has an underlying happiness.”

Proponents of the procedure say that it is a harmless procedure and dogs that have been debarked don’t act any differently than they did before the operation. Luckily, many younger veterinarians have deemed that the surgery unnecessary and unethical and refuse to perform it.

My first experience with debarking was after I inadvertently purchased my two dogs from the daughter of a notorious and nefarious New Jersey-based puppy mill breeder. I learned that it is not uncommon among puppy mill owners, to silence their dogs to prevent detection by authorities by shoving metal rebar down their throats. The repeated assaults on a dog’s vocal cords caused scarring and sometimes rupture which, in turn, renders the animal unable to bark. Imagine my outrage when I read that some veterinarians knowingly and willingly perform this surgery because pet owners requested that it be done!

I think the practice of debarking is repugnant, reprehensible and not justified in any circumstances. If your dark has a barking problem, hire an animal behaviorist or call Cesar Milan, aka the Dog Whisperer. It is likely there is an underlying behavioral problem or cause of the problem that can be fixed by behavior modification or pharmacological interventions. Debarking surgery is a convenient and facile solution for pet owners who say they love their dogs but are unwilling to spend the time and effort required to solve the problems.

In conclusion, if dogs weren’t meant to bark then they would not have when they first appeared on the planet!!!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Don't Forget to Hug Your Puppy Today!!!!

Job Cut Update: GlaxoSmithKline Mum on Number of US Jobs that will be Lost

BioJobBlogger — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:09:04 -0500

Despite the announcement late last week in the London Sunday Times that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will eliminate 4000 jobs worldwide, company official are refusing to disclose the number of worker who will lose their jobs in the US. Cuts are expected throughout the US including GSK’s R&D facilities in the Philadelphia, PA area and at its US headquarters in Research Triangle Park, NC which employs roughly 5,000 people.

GSK officials typically refuse to share detailed information on how layoffs affect its Triangle work force. Nearly a year ago, the company cut an undisclosed number of workers at a customer response center in RTP. GSK announced a first cost-cutting initiative in October 2007, eliminating thousands of jobs worldwide, and then it expanded that effort in February 2009 with many hundreds losing jobs at it North Carolina facilities in RTP and nearby Zebulon.

This coming Thursday is expected to be pink slip day at GSK.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (forget RTP)!!!!!!!

Why Generic Drug Companies Will Dominate Future Pharmaceutical Markets

BioJobBlogger — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:36:05 -0500

The loss of over 200,000 pharmaceutical jobs over the past three years has been mainly driven by the anticipated loss of revenue from blockbuster drugs that will lose patent protection by 2013. While drug makers frequently cite blockbuster patent expiry as the reason for the need to downsize, they rarely provide the business and economic metrics, numbers and statistics that have influenced their decisions.

Patricia Van Arnum, Senior Editor of Pharmaceutical Technology wrote a fascinating article in this month’s issue of Pharmaceutical Technology Europe that skillfully outlined the economic forces that are driving branded pharmaceutical companies to downsize and reorganize. According to the article, in October 2009 the pharmaceutical intelligence firm IMS estimated that the global pharmaceutical market is expected to growth 4-6% in 2010 and reach $825 billion. Market growth at an annual rate of 4-7% is expected to continue through 2013 and the size of global pharmaceutical market is projected to exceed $975 billion. The US pharmaceutical market, the largest in the world, is expected to drive much of this growth. However, the growth of the American market is only expected to be 3.5% in 2010. In market contrast, China’s pharmaceutical market is expected to increase by a staggering 20% per year and contribute 21% to the overall growth of the global pharmaceutical market by 2013.

While prospects for the US market are better than originally anticipated, the loss of nearly $137 billion in revenues in 2013— because of patent expiry of blockbuster products—coupled with fewer new drug approvals are the factors that will limit the growth of the global pharmaceutical market to single digits through 2013 and likely beyond. Some of the drugs slated to lose patent protection by 2013 include Lipitor (atorvastatin) by Pfizer, Plavix (clopidogrel) by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb and Seretide/Advair (salmeterol and fluticasone) by GlaxoSmithKline. Lipitor, Plavix and Seretide were the number one-, two- and foruth best-selling drugs in 2008 with global sales of $13.7 billion, $8.6 billion and $7.7 billion respectively.

The increasing growth of the generic pharmaceutical industry is best reflected in the concomitant growth of merchant active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing industry. In the API world, there are two types of manufacturers; the so-called captive API producers or companies that exclusively manufacture APIs for finished, branded products and merchant manufacturers which are third party providers of APIs. Over the past four years or so, the growth of the merchant API market for generic products has substantially outpaced the growth of the API for innovator products. For example, from 2004-2008 the merchant market for generics grew at an average annual rate of 9.1% from $12 billion in 2004 to $17 billion in 2008 according to a recent report by the Chemical Pharmaceutical Association (CPA). In contrast, the CPA determined that the merchant market for innovator/branded APIs only increased at an average annual rate of 4.4% from $16 billion in 2004 to $19 billion in 2008. Looking ahead, the worldwide market for merchant APIs is projected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 6.8% through 2013 to about $50 billion. During this period, growth of innovator APIs is expected to be about 1.8% whereas the growth of generic API is expected to be a robust 11.4%.

The US is currently the largest market for generic APIs and consumed roughly 22.9% of the total global demand for generic APIs in 2008. China, which is the second largest consumer of generic APIs, consumed 19.2%. While the US is expected to remain the largest consumer of both innovator and generic APIs, China is projected to become the largest consumer of generic APIs in 2013 capturing a 26% share of the total generic API market (the US will be number 2 with 20.5% market share).

According to industry analysts, China, India, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe (most notably Russia), represent attractive growth opportunities for generic APIs. India and China now account for roughly 25% of the global generic market and demand in these countries is expected to remain strong for the foreseeable future as the middle class continues to emerge. To that end, China is projected to have the highest average annual growth rate at 18.4% and India’s market will grow by 14% through 2013. Similar growth is expected for the Eastern European, Russian and Brazilian generic API markets.

While the economic size of emerging generic markets is still small compared with those of the US, Western Europe and Japan, it signals that generic drugs will likely drive the future growth of the pharmaceutical industry. The lack of innovation and rising costs of branded, prescription drugs in developed nations is the main driving force behind the rapid emergence of the generic drug industry. That said, is it any wonder why Pfizer is thinking about entering the generic pharmaceutical business and that Western drug companies are shedding scientists and sales people in the US and Europe and growing the sizes of their R&D and sales force staffs in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America? Honestly, if I had any money left to invest, I would seriously be considering traded generic pharmaceutical manufacturers—their future success is almost guaranteed!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

The Carnage Continues: GlaxoSmithKline to Slash an Additional 4,000 Jobs

BioJobBlogger — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:53:34 -0500

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Britain’s largest pharmaceutical company today announced it plans on slashing 4,000 jobs over the coming months. The bulk of the cuts will be in America and Europe, and are part of the company’s efforts to shift resources away from low-growth territories into parts of the world with greater scope to expand sales, most notably Asia. GSK’s currently employs 99,000 workers worldwide. The reduction in headcount will be combined with a drive to make the company’s research and development more cost-efficient.

While the job losses will not be as severe as those announced last week by its rival Astra Zeneca, they will provide further depressing news for a sector that is fighting to contain costs as it reduces its reliance on big-selling blockbuster drugs, many of whose patents will expire in the next two to three years.

The pipeline of new drugs at GSK is much deeper than at many of its rivals, say industry analysts. The company’s roster of planned launches includes Menhibrix, a vaccine to combat meningitis, and Benlysta (belimumab), a novel, monoclonal antibody treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus that it is co-developing with Maryland-based, Human Genome Sciences. In total, the group has more than 30 products in the advanced stages of development and testing.

While GSK continues to develop new drugs, it has increasingly been turning to emerging markets to find and sustain corporate growth. This has meant that thousands of jobs have already been sacrificed in the West, although the company is adding staff elsewhere. For example, it recently cut 2,000 sales jobs in America but added 1,500 staff in China. Also, GSK’s vaccine division has suffered a few regulatory setbacks with its pneumococcal vaccine Synflorix and its cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix. The loss of market share in these areas has put additional financial pressure on the company.

Like many of its competitors, GSK is looking to other divisions of the company to cover projected losses in the pharmaceutical sector. Recently, GSK has shifted a lot of its attention to its consumer products division, which owns brands such as Lucozade and Ribena soft drinks, Aquafresh and Sensodyne toothpaste, and over-the-counter medicines such as Panadol painkillers and Alli, a weight-loss pill. Analysts predict the division will have raised its annual sales 18% to £4.7 billion. A deal signed last year to increase sales of Lucozade in China has provided the blueprint for how the company would like to develop the consumer healthcare side of its business.

Similarly, last week, Sanofi-Aventis, a French rival, announced a joint venture with Minsheng Pharmaceutical Group, a Chinese company, to sell vitamin pills and nutritional supplements. Also, Pfizer recently announced it would bid for the possibility of purchasing the financially-troubled German generics manufacturer Ratiopharm; signaling the possibility that the world's largest branded pharmaceutical manager may be toying with the idea of getting into the generics business.

Late last year I predicted that more pharmaceutical company employees would loss their jobs. Sadly, this prediction has come true. That said, I am surprised at the scope and size of the layoffs that have already taken place in 2010. I suspect that more layoffs are likely in the near future if the economy doesn’t turn around anytime soon.

Hat tip to Ed at the Pharmalot blog!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try medical devices or biotech)!!!!!!!!

What Do a New Award Winning Book and BioCrowd Have in Common?

BioJobBlogger — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:14:47 -0500

Vincent Racaniello , virologist extraordinaire and a BioCrowd co-founder is slated to appear on ABC World News this evening to discuss Rebecca Sloot’s new book entitled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The book details the life of little-known Henrietta Lack whose cancerous cervical cells (subsequently called HeLa cells by the scientists who managed to cultivate and immortalize them in the laboratory), revolutionized the field of virology and changed the way viral vaccines are manufactured.

Rebecca Skloot, the author, is an award-winning science writer, and a contributing editor at Popular Science magazine; she's worked as a correspondent for the NPR show RadioLab, and PBS Nova ScienceNOW. Her writing appears in The New York Times Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Discover and others. The “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack” is her first book.

So, why is Vincent being featured on tonight’s newscast about the HeLa book? For those of you who don’t know, Vincent has spent almost 30 years unraveling the molecular mechanisms by which the polio virus causes disease. And, as many of you may know, HeLa cells are the cell line of choice to cultivate polio virus in the laboratory. In addition to cloning the polio virus receptor in HeLa cells, members of Vincent’s laboratory have elucidated the genes and their proteins responsible for the neurotrophic effects of the virus that can lead to paralysis from polio infections. Further, for those of you who may not know, Vincent, while a postdoctoral fellow in David Baltimore's laboratory, was the first to demonstrate that transfection of HeLa cells with cDNA made from polio virus genomic RNA (using the newly discovered HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme that resulted in Baltimore winning the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) yielded infectious polio virions.

While Vincent’s findings greatly aided research to elucidate the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of the polio virus, it transformed and revolutionized the entire field of RNA virology. Prior to Vincent’s discovery, it was impossible to study the molecular biology of RNA viruses using recombinant methods because unlike DNA, there are no known RNA restriction enzymes. The ability to transcribe viral RNA into cDNA molecules that yield infection RNA viral particles permitted researchers to dissect RNA virus genomes (using recombinant DNA technology) to determine contribution of individual genes to viral pathogenesis.

Vincent, one of only a handful of virus pioneers, is now applying his considerable pioneering talents to social media because he believes that Web 2.0 tools like blogs, podcasts, videos and social networking sites can be successfully used for science education and improving the public understanding of the life sciences.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Viewing (ABC World News Tonight)!!!!!!

BioCrowd Featured on BIO's 'I Am Biotech' Website

BioJobBlogger — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:33:00 -0500

I Am Biotech, the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO) outreach program is trying to promote the use of social media to spread the word about the importance of biotechnology and how it has changed the world for many individuals.

BioCrowd was invited to contribute to the social media section of the website. Like us, I Am Biotech believes that social media has an important role in promoting a better public understanding of biotechnology and other aspects of the life sciences industry.

Please check us out and learn more about the value of becoming a member of the BioCrowd by clicking here.

Until next time

Good Luck and Good Surfing!!!!!!!!!!!

BioJobBlogger's True Identity is Revealed!

BioJobBlogger — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:28:07 -0500

When I first started writing BioJobBlog back in 2007, I didn’t see any reason to hide my identity. However, as many inexperienced and naive bloggers ultimately learn, whatever you say can and will be used against you at some point. To that end, I was contacted by two lawyers during my first year of operation and decided to go uncover so that I could continue to work in the life sciences industry.

Over the past two years, I believe that I have become less inflammatory, vitriolic and pedantic and matured as a writer to the point where I don’t have to worry as much about getting fired or sued as I have in the past. Also, it helps that I am gainfully employed as a freelance writer and the people who pay me know that I write BioJobBlog (and probably don't read it)! Finally, and perhaps most importantly, marketing and SEO experts have repeatedly told me that anonymously-penned blogs have substantially less traffic then blogs where the author is identified and assumes responsibility for what he/she says (not that I am trying to increase traffic to my blog or anything)

I am sure many of you have been losing sleep at night trying to figure out who I am. Of course, people who have been reading BioJobBlog from the beginning (thank you loyal readers) already know my true identity (mainly because I told you who I was). But, for those of you who don’t and desperately need to know please click here.

Once you find out who I am, it may explain things....or not!

Until next time,

Good Luck and Good Reading !!!!!!!

More Regulatory Woes for New Antibiotic

BioJobBlogger — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:35:32 -0500

Theravance Inc. announced Thursday US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators are not satisfied with new data on its infection drug candidate telavancin (Vibativ), and indicated that further clinical studies may be required to win marketing approval.

Approval of Vibativ has been held up for three years, as the Food and Drug Administration asked the company for more data about the drug, and about studies Theravance has conducted in support of its application to the FDA. Theravance said Thursday the FDA told it the data so far is not enough to prove Vibativ works.

The agency will not begin a formal review of the drug until it says it is satisfied with the data.

Vibativ, or telavancin, is an injection intended to treat complicated or drug-resistant infections like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Theravance submitted an NDA to FDA for review in December 2006.

According to Theravance, the FDA did not say Theravance would have to run a new clinical trial to gain approval, but it suggested a design for such a study. Company representative said that they do not know what the FDA wants and said the agency did not provide any suggestions about the goals of the proposed study, how many patients should be included, or even how many studies might be required ( I guess it may be time for a meeting to discuss these issues?).

In response to the FDA’s previous requests for more data on telavancin, Theravance said it combined data from two late stage trials of Vibativ, with the goal of making the data more comparable. It said the FDA told it that the data is equal to only one study. Two late-stage trials are often required to win approval.

Theravance said it has tested Vibativ on about 1,500 patients and said its studies are the largest that have been submitted in support of a new drug of its type.

Regulatory concerns about Vibativ include a risk of birth defects when it is used in pregnant women, manufacturing issues, and questions about data comparing the drug to vancomycin, which is the most powerful antibiotic currently on the market.

While getting new antibiotics are the market are important, clinical studies must be carefully designed with appropriate endpoint to address potential safety and efficacy issues. Although Theravance believes that it has done that, the agency, as always, will be the final arbiter of a decision on telavancin.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

Got Biology? This List Does!

BioJobBlogger — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:17:45 -0500

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed important biological, genetic or other life sciences information quickly? Sure, you can Google the topic but it takes time to wade through all of the search results until you find the right one!

Carol Brown from Onlineuniversities.com sent me a list of the “100 Best Reference Sites for Science Students.” The list contains information for chemistry, environmental science and even geology. I extracted the life sciences websites from the list and posted them below.

Biology Online: On this site you can post questions in a forum, look things up in a bio dictionary, and read all kinds of informative articles and tutorials.
Everything Bio: Check out this resource to find a glossary, textbooks, images and a range of other online biology tools.
Life Science Dictionary: Try out this dictionary to look up life science terms and identify their meanings.
Molecular Biology Glossary: Students of molecular biology will appreciate this valuable research tool.
National Biological Information Infrastructure: Want to know and read about the research being done in the life sciences? Check out this site.
Biology Reference: You can look up loads of helpful biology terms in this online encyclopedia.
Biology Nation: From finding the best biology grad programs for looking up biology terminology, this site is a one-stop resource.
Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology: Search through this online dictionary to refresh your memory on the parts of the cell.
BioScience: With a dictionary, encyclopedia, links, software, and custom search tools, you’ll find more reference material than you could ever need on this site.
All Experts: Biology: Have a biology question you just can’t seem to find the
Amino Acids Repository: Use this site as a reference on amino acid properties alone and in proteins.
Table of Standard Genetic Code: This site is a great reference when trying to remember which part of DNA goes where.
Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms: Don’t know how to say a particular term? No worries, this glossary will tell you and more.
Human Genome Acronym List: Don’t have a clue what the ASHG is? This site can help you look it up.
Genetics Resources on the Web: Search through this site for the best genetics resources the web has to offer.
National Human Genome Research Institute: This site offers a number of helpful educational resources for students young and old.
Genetics Virtual Library: Search by organism or topic to find the genetic information you need to do your homework.
Genetics Home Reference: Those studying genetic disorders will appreciate this quick online reference for conditions.
GeneTests: Even if you’re not in medicine, you’ll be able to find interesting and compelling information on this site.
Gene Cards: You’ll find a collection of concise information on just about every gene out there on this site.

While I can’t vouch for the quality of the list, it looks to be pretty informative.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Studying!!!!!!

How Social Media May Be Influencing Human Clinical Trials and Access to Potentially Life-Saving Investigational New Drugs

BioJobBlogger — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:08:06 -0500

It’s no secret that pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are “not in love” with social media. However, whether life sciences company like it or not, social media is beginning to affect human clinical testing with an increasing number of patients demanding access to unapproved experimental drugs to treat life-threatening illnesses.

In a recent article that appeared in the January 15, 2010 issue of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News entitled “Expanded Access to Investigational New Drugs”, Natalie Douglas, CEO of UK-based Idis Pharma wrote:

"...the trend toward greater transparency of drug development pipelines and the accessibility of powerful social media tools, have led us to a more informed empowered and vocal population of patients. This, in turn, has led to increased demands for access to unapproved drugs that are in various stages of human clinical testing. “Patients can easily access information about investigational drugs via the Internet and are leveraging social media tools such as YouTube, Twitter and blog to influence companies to garner access to them” Douglas added.

This can place enormous pressure on the companies that are testing investigational new drugs because the safety and efficacy of the drug candidates has yet to be determined. Understandably, companies are loath to provide patients who don’t meet clinical trial inclusion requirements access to experimental drugs with unknown safety and efficacy characteristics. Nonetheless, if requests for access to investigational drugs are denied, social media tools can easily be used to quickly and widely publicize the denial. According to Douglas, aggressive use of social media tools by patients seeking access to investigational drugs has helped their stories make national news. This can create gargantuan regulatory and public relations problems for companies with drugs in clinical development and put them at the center of an ethical and moral firestorm—despite their best intentions to develop new drugs that eventually may help millions of patients suffering from various diseases and conditions.

Many patient advocacy groups, consumers and shareholders understand the almost limitless reach of social media and its ability to influence public opinion, discussions and trends. Whether or not drug makers are willing to use social media, many have yet to understand that they are already part of the social media conversation that is taking place daily. And, as all social media enthusiasts have realized, if you are not part of the conversation then you don’t know what is being said about you on the Internet. More importantly perhaps, is that by choosing not to participate in the conversation, companies have lost all ability to influence and manage what is being said. In other words, life sciences companies that steadfastly choose not to use social media may, paradoxically, be setting themselves up for public relations and regulatory headaches that could have easily been avoided.

While the social media frenzy may be beginning to wane, there is no question that it has changed the way people interact and influenced the way business is transacted online and in real life. Companies that insist on clinging to past business practices that are exclusive, non-interactive and designed to promote opacity are likely to lose customers and market share as 21^st century technology continues to unfold.

Hat tip to Natalie!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!

Is the Economy Really Improving? Astra Zeneca to Cut 8,000 Jobs

BioJobBlogger — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:29:41 -0500

AstraZeneca PLC said today it , or 12 percent of its work force, by 2014 to cut costs as it reported disappointing fourth quarter earnings. The job cuts will be made across all regions and divisions and were necessary because some of the company’s major products including the child asthma medication Pulmicort, which made sales of $1.3 billion in 2009, and breast cancer treatment Arimidex, with $1.92 billion in sales will be losing patent protection in the near future.

CEO David Brennan said the company was extending a cost-cutting program it launched in 2007, which had saved the company $1.6 billion annually at the end of 2009.Extending the program out to 2014 will cost another $2 billion, with expected benefits of $1.9 billion a year by 2014, he said.

Around 12,600 jobs having already been eliminated under the program, although Brennan suggested that the net figure was closer to 4,600 after new roles were created by the company, which employs around 63,000 people worldwide.

The new round of cuts will be global, including sales and marketing, business infrastructure, research and development and the supply chain. The company’s research & development division will lose about 1,800 jobs and according to Brennan there may be some closures of research and development sites or facilities as part of the restructuring. The company is reported to be waiting for regulatory approval of five new products.

Despite claims that the US economy is improving, big pharma continues to downsize its R&D workforce. Call me crazy, but aren’t these the same companies that argue that healthcare reform will stifle innovation and hinder new drug discovery? This begs the question: how do you discover new and novel medicines and treatments if the people who discover and develop drugs no longer work at your company? There is always outsourcing and M&A I suppose.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

Merger Aftermath: Pfizer Refocuses

BioJobBlogger — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:50:14 -0500

While I never was involved in a corporate acquisition or merger, I have many friends who have lived through them and based on their experiences it is a never a “pretty sight.” Merger aftermaths usually feature massive layoffs, executive management disputes and turf wars and corporate culture clashes tha occur when two workforces are forced to merge as one. However, sometimes mergers may be a good thing for struggling companies. To that end, Pfizer may actually benefit from it $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth late last year.

The acquisition will cost at least 20,000 employees their jobs—not a good thing in a national economy where unemployment is well over 10 percent (despite claims to the contrary). However, this merger is strikingly different than Pfizer’s questionable past mergers and acquisitions which were primarily engineered to procure one or two drugs that had blockbuster potential e.g. Lipitor and Celebrex. This time around, Pfizer’s management team is actually re-evaluating its entire drug development portfolio and attempting to expand the company’s pipeline to include vaccines, therapeutic proteins and other biologics. As I previously noted, most major pharmaceutical companies believe that biologics will be the major driver of pharmaceutical markets in the not so distant future.

According to a post on PharmaLive, Pfizer announced that it will discontinue research and development on roughly 100 experimental new drug candidates. Pfizer officials revealed that the company will continue with 500 research projects in six areas of: 1) Alzheimer’s disease, 2) diabetes, 3) pain, 4) cancer and 5) mental illness (including schizophrenia).

Of the 500 projects, 30 drugs are being tested for cancer indications, 10 for Alzheimer’s disease, eight for pain and 11 for inflammation. Further,133 are in various stages of human clinical testing, including several that are awaiting regulatory approval in the US and elsewhere.

On the biologics front, Pfizer has six vaccines and 27 biopharmaceutical drugs in development. Prior to the Wyeth acquisition, the company only had one vaccine and 16 new biologics that it was testing. Like most other pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer wants to be a major player in the biopharmaceutical and biologics markets by 2015.

Only time will tell!

Until next time,

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!