Time to Ease On Down the Road

It’s been a real pleasure writing my guest op-ed pieces for Xconomy for the past six years. I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts about a wide spectrum of biopharma topics, and appreciated... Read more »

Biopharma CEOs, VCs, and Hedge Fund Managers: Fifty Shades of Greed

I just returned from a family vacation and was going through my accumulated mail. I got a notice that the terms of my auto loan were being adjusted. Instead of paying... Read more »

Pharma Plays The “Value” Card: Drug Spending Then And Now

Dr. John Lechleiter, the CEO of Eli Lilly, recently attempted to debunk five “Big Myths” about Big Pharma. As he wrote, “Only about 10 cents of every U.S. healthcare dollar... Read more »

Dr. Frances Kelsey: American Hero, Government Regulator

Dr. Frances Kelsey passed away last week at the ripe old age of 101. She was a true hero in every sense of the word. How did she achieve this status?... Read more »

Drug Discovery in Seattle 2015: An Updated History

The drug discovery and development process is a difficult one that takes considerable expertise in both the research and business realms. Seattle (and the rest of Washington state) currently has approximately... Read more »

Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two

Ebola doctors

Heroic efforts admired

Angels of mercy!

Genome sequencing

Compare normal with patient

Secrets revealed

Next-gen sequencing

One big issue still out there

Interpretation

Republicans rule

Eye... Read more »

Summer Reading List: True Tales That Will Inspire and Educate You

OK, you’ve already read the latest hot science bestsellers—Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies and Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (both terrific, by the way)—and you’re wondering... Read more »

The Innovation Challenge: Assessing BioPharma Startups

Developing new medicines is really difficult and very expensive. A recent report, “Decline In Economic Returns From New Drugs Raises Questions About Sustaining Innovations,” suggests that the newest medicines are... Read more »

Academia vs. BioPharma: Young Scientists Between A Rock and A Hard Place

I’ve reached the stage of my career where I’ve been invited to give “career retrospective talks” to grad students and post-docs at academic institutions. It’s been an interesting and enjoyable experience... Read more »

Cancer Immunotherapy Companies: Looking Forward and Looking Back

[Updated, 4/7/15, see below] I’ve been researching one of our local immunotherapy developers here in Seattle, trying to round up the views of industry experts regarding the future prospects... Read more »

Resistance Is Futile: Why That’s A Good Thing In Biomedicine

Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation are very familiar with the Borg, a society of cybernetic individuals linked together in a collective mindset. The Borg navigate the universe in... Read more »

Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)

I was having coffee with a friend recently and the subject of word processing software came up. My friend related how he was happily using WordStar. WordStar? I hadn’t thought about... Read more »

What’s Missing From Education? Critical Thinking

There is too little emphasis on teaching critical thinking skills in schools. Many adults have little understanding of important science and technology issues, which leaves them open to poor decision making... Read more »

Prescription Drug Pricing: The Fine Line Between Value and Greed

Value. It’s one of the most frequently used buzzwords on both Wall Street and in healthcare. Virtually every press release from a publicly traded company assures us that its latest acquisition/layoff/tax... Read more »

Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Accessing Unaffordable Science Journals

If you work in academia or in Big Pharma, you likely have easy access to the world’s scientific literature. Outside of these places, however, obtaining affordable access to the latest scientific... Read more »

What Seattle Needs (Part 3): Working Together to Revitalize Biotech

These are incredibly exciting times in biomedical research. Though the biopharmaceutical industry is in flux, prospects for a greater understanding of the disease process, and the development of new treatments, has... Read more »

What Seattle Needs (Part 2): Dealing With Amgen’s Upcoming Departure

Reality bites: Amgen’s (NASDAQ: AMGN) decision to leave Washington state is a serious blow to our local bioscience ecosystem. Those who think that all of those people who got laid... Read more »

What Seattle Needs (Part 1): “Semi-Successful” Biotech Companies

I know what you’re thinking: that’s a pretty strange headline. Why would a city want to attract or build companies that are only “semi-successful?” Wouldn’t it want companies that are flourishing... Read more »

Which Countries Excel in Creating New Drugs? It’s Complicated

A lot has been written lately about innovation, or the lack thereof, in the world of biopharma. One question that often gets asked: which countries lead the way in creating new... Read more »

Military Strategies Being Used in the War on Cancer

Nearly everyone has heard of the War on Cancer, which was launched during the Nixon administration with the passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971. The goal of this... Read more »