A growing number of pharma CEOs are now dealing with the consequences of failing to care about workplace realities and what Toyota called the gemba, or place where truth will be found.

If the idea of reading a book on ethics or philosophy is too off-putting....after all, it has been a rough week....why not simply listen to The Clash's hit song "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" The answer's right there. "If I go there will be trouble, and if I stay it will be double."  
From 'On Pharma'

Pharma whistleblowers don't always fare too well...especially those who deal with the invisible world of manufacturing.  Remember Mark Livingston and the Wyeth Sarbanes-Oxley case? However, Cheryl Eckard, who pointed out manufacturing deficiencies at GSK's Cidra, Puerto Rico, plant has received a $96-million payment.  For more from The Guardian, read on.  They've included

From 'On Pharma'

The compliance consultants, Vectech, are now offering virtual cGMP consulting services, to help drug manufacturers deal with FDA compliance questions immediately via videoconferencing. The company is promoting this as a way to eliminate travel costs, yet ensure "face time." Costs are said to be a fraction of what traditional consulting runs. For more, read on.

From 'On Pharma'

A few days ago, I listened in on a webcast sponsored by WINA, the Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance, on “Choosing the Right Wireless Technology for Industrial Applications.” The main thrust of the webcast was to provide clarity around both ZigBee and Wireless HART standards for wireless usage in and around plants. It was a good, technical program if industrial wireless is your thing.

From 'On Pharma'

I don’t know about you, but the relentless drum beat of negative news has been getting to me lately.  Every day seems to bring news of some drastic four-figure layoff...er, restructuring, whether in pharma or other industries.

From 'On Pharma'

The University of Michigan announced that, after several months of secret negotiations, it will purchase Pfizer's Ann Arbor, Mich., research facility. Pfizer had planned on closing the facility by the end of 2008, and may have ended up razing the site rather than selling off the buildings piecemeal, so the university is clearly playing the role of white knight. What it gets is 30 buildings and 174 acres of top-notch research facilities into which it can expand, for a fraction of the cost, $108 million, that it would have to spend to create the facilities itself.

From 'On Pharma'