Did any of you catch that recent WSJ report on the negative impact of mass layoffs? OK, I know that M&A layoffs are different, but today brought the sad news that Pfizer/Wyeth will lay off 6,000 employees and close eight of its manufacturing plants in Ireland, Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Last year, I attended FDA’s first science writers’ symposium, an interesting program that I’m looking forward to again this year. I wrote up a brief report on the event and took some very amateur videos of scientists’ presentations, envisioning the construction of some grand documentary on FDA's new lab facilities . . . then, my laptop was stolen during a trip, the article was lost and material never made it onto our web site.

Ever get stuck behind a loud bore on an airplane? I had that misfortune last week. Eventually tuned him out, but couldn’t help but pity his quiet seat-mate, who didn’t know a peptide from a Pepsi, as he got sucked deeper and deeper into a one-sided verbal black hole, a diatribe about the axis of evil: the pharmaceutical industry and its “ally,” the FDA.

This bore was well-read, but essential bits of knowledge were missing from everything he talked about, from his description of peptides and how cox-2 inhibitors work to his characterization of the evil FDA.

I've always found one of the most evocative terms in the Toyota lexicon to be “gemba” ----the real place, or as it has more poetically been translated, “the place where truth will be found.”  The word already implies that you may have preconceived notions of what the truth is and need a reality check. What better way to define the workplace, whether that's a laboratory or a factory?

Did anyone miss President Obama's recent announcement that he plans to put an end to corporate tax loopholes (a mainstay for every major pharma and biotech company in the world....)More from Bloomberg and the President himself. 

Busy and eventful week.  Michele's on her way to Ireland to visit biotech and pharma labs, and Paul had nice interviews with AstraZeneca's CEO David Brennan and former House majority leader Dick Gephardt. 

End Pharma Parochialism: Think Globally, Act Globally

Just discovered the "PCR Song," which predates the Agilent video...with a "we are the world" theme.  

High school biotech students are also flooding YouTube with Biotech rap  new dance forms...and this rather creative DNA Replication Song.  

Lots of fun (but hope they didn't submit these as their senior projects....)

Kudos to Agilent Technologies for being a bit zany in its advertising. A new "music video" brings Barry White sound to the Mass Spec crowd (courtesy of Agilent Technologies)....and hat tip to Chris Truelove, Pharma Blogs in Review.

AMS

To some people, Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) and Quality by Design (QbD) might seem like the dullest topics imagineable. But they just might be the salvation of an industry dogged by recalls and adverse reaction reports, lawsuits, 483's and other compliance issues (and that's just on the GMP and non sales and marketing side!)

We think they need to be discussed openly and engagingly, and we've invited two experts whose erudition doesn't get in the way of their common sense, sense of humor and connection to broader culture...and yes, that includes (gasp) pop culture...to help lead an open discussion about this.

Jack Carroll and Emil Ciurczak, chemists and experts in spectroscopy and chemometrics, who teach courses on PAT, QbD and other topics around the world, are co-hosting a video and audio talk show, PAT Talk, to discuss issues.

Here's the first video pilot.

We're planning to feature this regularly in either audio or video format, and to open the discussion and, eventually, allow viewers or listeners to ask Emil and Jack questions about their implementation problems, much as Tom and Ray Magliozzi (better known as Click and Clak, the Tappet Brothers) do on the program, Car Talk. Eventually, guest experts will be invited and the program will also feature "puzzlers."

We hope that you enjoy the program, and welcome any comments, constructive criticism or questions. Especially comments! These subjects can't just be discussed by the elite but need to be talked about openly by everyone in the industry.

AMS