Category: Uncategorized

AFTER EXUBRA'S CATASTROPHIC FAIURE (INHALED INSULIN IN A BONG), even companies with POC for alternative dose routes such as nasal administration (I know of at least two) do not dare go near that graveyard. This is a great shame for diabetics. View in LinkedIn

THE US GENERICS INDUSTRY HAS SAVED CONSUMERS ONE TRILLION USD IN TEN YEARS (Generic Pharmaceutical Association study with IMS Health 2012). Similar savings are predicted for generic biologicals. In 1984 the Hatch-Waxman Act opened the doors for the modern generics industry by creating incentives for generic drug makers. At that time it was estimated that 10 year savings might be one billion, but by 1994 it was ~10 billion USD. Since then, those savings have grown exponentially. Many of the early innovators of the industry are now dead, but they have left a phenomenal legacy. View in LinkedIn

TEMPORARY LIVER BIOREACTOR WHILE AWAITING LIVER TRANSPLANT. View in LinkedIn

DRUG DEVELOPERS SHOULD KILL MOLECULES. I once knew an entrepreneur who was very smart and developed an important synthetic enzyme. This enzyme was in the oxidative stress pathway, and animal model after animal model yielded positive data. He was passionate about the molecule and grew irrationally attached to it. Even as the IP was fading, and all attempts to fund it had failed, he still could not do what drug developers have to do every day: kill the molecule. Beware the zealot who falls in love with his own work. View in LinkedIn

DIGITAL HEALTH: WATCH THIS SPACE. View in LinkedIn

DIGITAL HEALTH IS VC SWEETSPOT JUST NOW. View in LinkedIn

71% OF UK PHARMACIES GIVE POOR ADVICE (Daily Mail May 2013 p. 9) according to a survey published by Which? of 122 pharmacies. Many similar findings have been published in the US. This is particularly true of adverse drug-drug interactions. As increasing numbers of patients take herbal supplements in addition to pharmaceuticals, the drug-herbal interactions are rarely discussed with the pharmacist. Many herbal remedies have strong adverse interactions with pharmaceuticals and some estimate adverse reactions in up to a third of patients. View in LinkedIn

DR CHARLIE HSIAO WAS A LEGENDARY ENTREPRENEUR and a dear friend. He grew up in Taiwan in humble circumstances, as a tall shy boy, and made it to a good University studying pharmaceutics. He co-founded Ivax Pharmaceuticals, a generics powerhouse that grew to be one of the largest generics companies worldwide until sold to Teva for 7.4 Bn USD. Charlie went on to co-found Impax Labs with Larry Hsu, which today is worth over a billion. Sadly, he died of multiple myeloma a couple of years ago. I was honored to be one of two speakers at his funeral. View in LinkedIn

JAPAN NEEDS TO ATTRACT INTERNATIONAL TALENT, according to the founder of the giant INCJ VC fund. He shared his vision of the problems of kickstarting innovation in the stalled Japanese economy: one was attracting and securing international talent to the cause. The cultural and language barriers to integrating a foreigner are still significant. Although curious and deeply hospitable, Japan is still a culture that requires a big investment by a foreigner to integrate. Fortunately, most of the business leaders speak fluent English, and many can understand it. View in LinkedIn

I HAD SUPPER WITH THE CHIEF Medical OFFICER OF ELAN BIOPHARMACEUTICALS last night. Menghis Bairu MD is an old friend, whose jet-set life at Elan (NYSE: ELN) includes inking multiple gigantic deals, and editing/authoring few books on Global Clinical Trials, including a recent one on Alzheimer's Disease. With roots in Eritrea, Menghis had a truly meteoric career, but never forgets the values of family and simplicity. When I worked for Elan, it had a tumultuous history, but today in downsized mode of under 100 staff, it is poised to collect giant royalty payments for decades. What a ride! View in LinkedIn