The FDA just approved Eli Lilly’s novel imaging agent, Amyvid (florbetapir). Amyvid is a molecular imaging agent that detects beta-amyloid plaque in the brain. The presence of the plaque is closely associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.
In January 2011, an FDA Advisory Committee voted 16-0 to recommend approval of Amyvid pending the implementation of training program to teach physicians how to use the agent.
Amyvid was the lynchpin in Eli Lilly’s 2010 acquisition of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals.
Production and Distribution of Amyvid will be handled by PETNET Solutions, a subsidiary of Siemens.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
J&J Revisited
I’ve been quiet the last few months, but it doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying attention. New J&J recalls. New “setbacks” in manufacturing. And, every few weeks, another J&J management communication assuring everyone that everything is fine, all problems are limited only to the McNeil Consumer and everyone should carry on and pretend like J&J cares about its consumers. It’s scary how divorced J&J’s management is from the real situation of their business.
But hey, hats off to The New York Times for acknowledging the train wreck of leadership that is William Weldon and what he has managed to do to J&J’s once sterling reputation. In most countries of the world, they imprison CEOs for less than what Weldon has done. And in some countries, they just take them out and shoot ‘em. And yet, the Board of Johnson & Johnson gave William Weldon one of the largest golden parachutes in history: $143 million.
J&J is pinning its hopes on new CEO Alex Gorsky. I don’t envy him – taking over as poster boy for the most embarrassing company in the industry. But here’s the real problem with Gorsky, he’s not his own man (and never has been). Despite a brief stint at Novartis, Gorsky is a “J&J man” and has had his own management troubles. Gorsky led the Ethicon division into a rough patch of recalls, quality problems and management incompetence (there’s a lot of skeletons in this closet and you only need to start at hip implants and surgical mesh to follow the trail).
Gorsky is youthful to Weldon’s “maturity.” But from the looks of it, J&J’s just sexed up the CEO's office with a better looking version of what they had before. J&J still hasn’t addressed the fundamental problem – itself.
But hey, hats off to The New York Times for acknowledging the train wreck of leadership that is William Weldon and what he has managed to do to J&J’s once sterling reputation. In most countries of the world, they imprison CEOs for less than what Weldon has done. And in some countries, they just take them out and shoot ‘em. And yet, the Board of Johnson & Johnson gave William Weldon one of the largest golden parachutes in history: $143 million.
J&J is pinning its hopes on new CEO Alex Gorsky. I don’t envy him – taking over as poster boy for the most embarrassing company in the industry. But here’s the real problem with Gorsky, he’s not his own man (and never has been). Despite a brief stint at Novartis, Gorsky is a “J&J man” and has had his own management troubles. Gorsky led the Ethicon division into a rough patch of recalls, quality problems and management incompetence (there’s a lot of skeletons in this closet and you only need to start at hip implants and surgical mesh to follow the trail).
Gorsky is youthful to Weldon’s “maturity.” But from the looks of it, J&J’s just sexed up the CEO's office with a better looking version of what they had before. J&J still hasn’t addressed the fundamental problem – itself.
Johnson & Toxin
Johnson & Johnson has found itself the target of a mother’s wrath – the resulting Johnson & Toxin parody site is both comical and startling accurate in its depiction of the once-great pharmaceutical firm.
The Angry Mom has hit on J&J’s business model: “If we don’t make them sick, we can’t make them better.” It’s funny, right? But it strikes at the heart of what I’ve been saying on this blog for years about Johnson & Johnson – my health is too important to trust it to J&J.
Angry Mom has largely missed the crux the of J&J debacle – the culture of contempt that J&J management has assumed towards its consumers and it’s willingness to flush the cherished CREDO into the toilet in favor of short-term profits. Both of those factors were directly introduced into the organization by William "Billy" Weldon.
But hey, J&J CEO William Weldon gets to walk away with is $143 million golden parachute when he “retires” in April. Johnson & Johnson can rationalize this all it wants, but that $143 million is blood money – and we know where it came from.
Angry Mom needs to be careful. Not only does J&J lack a sense of humor, but the company has a willingness to sue anyone and any organization it wants to take out. Silencing dissent is the name of the J&J game. The American Red Cross learned just how ruthless J&J was willing to be. And last year, I got to see the J&J legal machine up close and personal when I decided to live Tweet the J&J Annual Shareholder meeting and J&J attorney Doug Chia was none too happy to have someone at the event posting comments that weren’t “filtered” by the company's PR machine. So, Angry Mom needs to watch out, although maybe that's part of her strategy - let the J&J machine sue her to shut her up, but the resulting trial would be a further embarassment to the company and would also open them up to legal discovery (which would surely produce a wealth of documents - and probably why J&J ultimately backed off its baseless lawsuit against the American Red Cross).
That said, I say kudos to Angry Mom for taking a stand.
The Angry Mom has hit on J&J’s business model: “If we don’t make them sick, we can’t make them better.” It’s funny, right? But it strikes at the heart of what I’ve been saying on this blog for years about Johnson & Johnson – my health is too important to trust it to J&J.
Angry Mom has largely missed the crux the of J&J debacle – the culture of contempt that J&J management has assumed towards its consumers and it’s willingness to flush the cherished CREDO into the toilet in favor of short-term profits. Both of those factors were directly introduced into the organization by William "Billy" Weldon.
But hey, J&J CEO William Weldon gets to walk away with is $143 million golden parachute when he “retires” in April. Johnson & Johnson can rationalize this all it wants, but that $143 million is blood money – and we know where it came from.
Angry Mom needs to be careful. Not only does J&J lack a sense of humor, but the company has a willingness to sue anyone and any organization it wants to take out. Silencing dissent is the name of the J&J game. The American Red Cross learned just how ruthless J&J was willing to be. And last year, I got to see the J&J legal machine up close and personal when I decided to live Tweet the J&J Annual Shareholder meeting and J&J attorney Doug Chia was none too happy to have someone at the event posting comments that weren’t “filtered” by the company's PR machine. So, Angry Mom needs to watch out, although maybe that's part of her strategy - let the J&J machine sue her to shut her up, but the resulting trial would be a further embarassment to the company and would also open them up to legal discovery (which would surely produce a wealth of documents - and probably why J&J ultimately backed off its baseless lawsuit against the American Red Cross).
That said, I say kudos to Angry Mom for taking a stand.
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