Are you Single-minded?

While the bulk of my posts have focused on developments in the Pharmaceutical industry, I also like to post occasionally on topics related to Career Development.
And along those lines, there is an interesting post here.

We often hear it touted that we should all strive to be well-rounded....that we should work to improve our weaknesses....that we should strive for a balanced life.

David Rendall does not agree with that philosophy. He writes:

"While you are busy diffusing your time and energy broadly in an effort to improve in a variety of different areas, someone else is obsessively developing their strengths and flaunting their weaknesses. They aren't allowing their weaknesses to distract them from focusing on the areas in which they have the greatest potential.

If you want to win, in your career or your business, you need to be singleminded. Don't let your weaknesses and the goal of being well-rounded keep you from a maniacal focus on improving your strengths."

I think his point is valid....Being successful in any one area requires sacrifice....including possibly giving up the pursuit of success in other endeavors.....

Rise in Hiring Activity

Good news for job seekers in the Pharmaceutical/Biotech sector....
We have seen a significant surge in hiring.
I am not sure if this is just a blip on the radar....or if this development is the start of an upward trend.

Nevertheless - for now - there is a lot of hiring going on....

Bristol’s $2.1 Billion Medarex Deal -Brilliance or Desperation?

The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog briefly discusses this week's acquisition of Medarex by Bristol-Myers Squibb here.

The article describes BMS as "an old-line pharma company sitting on a lot of cash ($8.1 billion as of the end of the second quarter, according to Bristol’s latest earnings report this morning) and facing the generic competition for its blockbuster Plavix in a couple of years." On the other side of the aisle, you have Medarex, which is more of the 'New Kid on the Block...the hot upstart Biotech with promising cancer meds in late stage development and testing.

The reality is this....The potential rewards of this acquisition are promising...but the price of admission is high.
According to the WSJ article..."Bristol is paying a 90% premium to Medarex's Wednesday closing price,..."

And a quick glance at Google Finance shows that Medarex earned $10 Million last quarter...but lost almost $47 Million.

So while the potential is there...the question is...Did BMS pay too much for some potential?
Is this a strategically brilliant move? Or is it one that smacks of desperation?

Celgene's Revlimid shows promise as first-line treatment

Reuters reports that:
"Celgene said its multiple myeloma drug Revlimid significantly improved progression-free survival in patients undergoing initial treatment. The study's findings could boost the chance of expanding Revlimid's use outside the U.S., the company said. The product is approved only for patients who failed to respond to other therapies. "

Very nice development for Celgene......

Pharma Death Spiral

Sally Church has another interesting post on her blog where she asks what Pharma companies are in the proverbial 'Death Spiral'.
There is no doubt about it....the Pharma/Biotech industry is going through a very dynamic time.
The reality however is that while there are a number of Pharma and Biotech companies that are in serious trouble, there are an even greater number of companies that are doing well. These companies are poised to not only survive in this new marketplace, but will actually thrive.

There will be losers in the industry...and change is inevitable. But we can rest assured that the industry will continue to thrive. Unless someone invents a pill that totall eradicates illness in all humans, the Pharma/Biotech industry as a a whole will continue to be successful.

Senate panel gives 12-year exclusivity to biotech drugs

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved a 12-year data exclusivity clause for Bitoech companies before they have to share their drug-making data with generic drug manufacturers. You can read the article here.

There was a strong push by the Obama administration for a seven-year exclusivity limit.

According to the article:

"Biotech companies had pushed for a longer period of data exclusivity because, they say, it can take 15 years and as much as $1 billion to bring a new medicine to patients. They say data exclusivity to recoup money they’ve invested to make the product.

But supporters of a shorter time limit say long-term data exclusivity gives profitable biotech companies an unfair monopoly on the costly drugs. They say their ability to make biosimilars - the lower-cost generic versions of the biotech drugs - will lead to lower health-care costs."

But the 12 year exclusivity period is by no means a done deal...the measure still needs approval buy the full House and Senate.

Stem cells used to repair heart damage

I know....3 posts in one day....But this story is absolutely fascinating...and this is why I love the Pharma/Biotech industry.

Your Biggest Weakness - How to answer this Interview Question

Over on the Recruiter's Roundtable at Yahoo Hotjobs there was a discussion regarding how to field one of the most commonly asked Interview Questions, "What is your Biggest Weakness?"
You can view the whole discussion here.

I thought the advice from Delynn Senna, Executive Director from Robert Half International, was excellent. She replied:

"There are times when I ask job candidates this question. It's not that I want to nitpick or make people feel uncomfortable, but rather I want to see in which areas they feel they need to improve and what they are doing about it. In order to advance professionally, we all need to be able to honestly identify not just our strengths but also our weaknesses and how we can upgrade in these areas.

I recommend that job candidates be upfront during interviews. Don't say you have "no weaknesses" or "work too hard." Instead, tell hiring managers what you are working on improving and what you've done to build your skills in these areas.

One thing to keep in mind: If one of your weaknesses is directly related to the position and could potentially take you out of the running, the opportunity may not be right for you."

Bottom line - the reality is that you should be honest. If you really have a weakness that would inhibit your ability to do the job....then you really should not be interviewing for it.

New Biotech Firms' Discoveries Need More Protection

Just read an interesting article here.

The article states that...

"According to a new study commissioned by the National Venture Capital Association....Early-stage venture capital-backed biotech companies should be able to hold exclusive rights on their medical discoveries for at least 12 years because their investors expect 20% returns to repay them for the “extraordinary (investment) risk.”

However, the article goes on to say that:

"Legislators now formulating a new FDA approval process are assuming a 10% internal rate of return for venture capital fund investors."

The articles closes by saying:

"A shorter exclusivity period would make it difficult for venture capital backers of biotech companies to earn returns on these companies, according to the study by Joshua Lerner, Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School; and Iain Cockburn, professor of finance and economics and Everett W. Lord Distinguished Faculty Scholar in Boston University's School of Management."

I think the article is spot on.
The reality is this....no one is going to assume risk without the promise of some reward!!
It is that simple.
However Congress seems to believe that Venture Capitalists are going to fall all over themselves to fund companies involved in risky drug projects and that these same Venture Capitalists will assume all of the financial risk if the drugs fail. Yet Congress assumes these same folks are going to do this without the promise of any real Return on Their Investment.

Sometimes this stuff just boggles the mind....

Talent is more expensive than capital

Great post over at Talentism entitled - Start: 20 Rules for Recruiting in the Creative Age.
You can read the whole post here.
But my favorite rule is Rule #1 [also repeated for emphasis as Rule #20].

1.) Talent is more expensive than capital.

Good companies remember this rule. Bad companies never learned it.

Japan approves first generic biotech drug

According just a story in Reuters that just broke here:

Japanese regulators approved a human growth hormone from Novartis AG, the first green light in Japan for a biosimilar or generic version of a biotech drug, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.

Biosimilars are viewed as a promising new market, given the pent-up demand for cheaper versions of extremely expensive biotech drugs, some of which are coming to the end of their patent life.

Somatropin, made by Novartis' generics unit Sandoz, is for treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children and growth disturbance associated with Turner's syndrome or chronic renal insufficiency, the group said.

It will be interesting to see how this development plays out.....

Nobel laureate Richard J Roberts says "Future is in Biotech"

The recent economic woes have cast a pall over a wide swath of industries. The Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries have been particularly hard hit this time.
And for the first time in my 18 years as a Recruiter, I actually have candidates asking me how to transition out of the Pharma/Biotech fields.

But not everyone is despondent about the prospects for the industry.

Nobel laureate Richard J Roberts opines here that "The futures lies in Biotech."

Roberts says that despite the current economic woes, now is the best time to be in the industry. Roberts goes on to say:

"Recession is the right time for this because there are no competitors. The early bird always gets the worm....We still know very little about biology and the mechanisms of life. So this provides us with a huge opportunity to focus on areas that humanity needs most. Far from being a negative factor, the recession has provided us with an opportunity to plan and consolidate better."

Roberts adds that the "key thrust areas where the biotech industry can catch up are genetically-modified food, bio-energy, stem cell research, synthetic biology and personalised medicine."

Personally I think Roberts is right on the mark. The future for Biotech still burns brightly.

The Power of Weak Ties on Facebook

I just heard about this video and this website on Twitter today.
Shama Hyder has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Social Media and she has a great video over at her site, Shama.Tv that discusses The Power of Weak Ties on Facebook. [Although the value of 'weak ties' extends not just to Facebook, but across all social media. And in fact, I think it is fair to say that, 'weak ties' have value in the 'analog' world as well :)]

I think not that only job seekers, but anyone who is looking to improve themselves, will enjoy this video. It is good stuff!

Creative Marketing Promotion - Free Hair Color For Job Hunting Women

This is a little off-topic from what I usually post about....but I thought this promotion by tng worldwide and Kemon was a really great example of some creative marketing coupled with companies offering a good old-fashioned 'helping hand' to the community. Kemon and tng worldwide are teaming up to offer free hair color for job hunting women in the Detroit area. You can read the details here.
The program is called Hair for Success.
According to the article:

Larry Gaynor, CEO and president of tng worldwide....convinced local salons to donate their time, talent and services for the Hair For Success event, while tng worldwide is supplying the Kemon coloring product that stylists will be using on the women. It is one of the most sought after color products in the industry. Gaynor expects to help 2,000 women during Monday’s event by giving away about $100,000 in professional color treatments.

This program is a great example of 'giving before you get'. And it seems like this event will be a winner for all who are involved.....

Be Professional when Job Hunting

Marvin Walberg has a good article with some basic common-sense tips about how to conduct yourself on your job search. You can read the article here.

One of his tips is as follows:

Get a permanent and appropriate e-mail address. If you want, use one for friends and fun and another for business, using your name or initials — no cutesy names like hotmamma1795@hotmail.com, or — well, you know what we mean.

Now you would think that most people would know that they should use an appropriate email for their business related conversations....but that is not always the case. Years ago, I had a candidate that had an email address that was, shall we say, somewhat pornographic in nature. It was listed at the top of her resume. When I mentioned to her that she may want to consider using another email address for her job search, she balked at the suggestion.

Needless to say, I did not spend any more time working with her.

Palm's Pre Proves The Value of Recruiting Talent

Greg Kumparak over at MobileCrunch writes here about the resurgence of Palm.
How did Palm do it? They went out and recruited the people that they needed. And did they simply post a couple of ads and hope the right people responded to them?
No - Palm went out and aggressively recruited the talent that they wanted and needed from their competitors.

Kumparak writes:

"In early June 2007, Palm was teetering on the edge of obscurity. Their flagship Treo product line had gone stale, numbers were down across the board, and rumors of a sale were abound. On June 4th, 2007 it was announced that Elevation Partners had purchased a 25% equity stake of Palm for $325 million. Flash forward to today; just two years later (almost to the day), Palm has launched the Pre, a phone which managed to nab the attention of just about every blog and blog reader out there.

So what changed? What had that new-found $325 million bought them? Talent. Lots and lots of talent - from their competitors, no less. With a good amount of lucky timing and some decent salary proposals, Palm managed to snatch up at least 8 people who were just oh-so-damn good at what they do, ending up with the Palm Pre and webOS as a result."

The moral of the story....if you want to build a quality organization....if you want to make products that people want to buy....you can't just passively sit back and wait for talented people to beat a path to your doorstep. You have to go out and find them!!!

Worker Burnout

Joel Cheesman writes here that workers who have survived layoffs are increasingly experiencing burnout. Joel writes:

"...according to CareerBuilder’s latest survey of more than 4,400 workers nationwide.

Forty-seven percent of workers reported they have taken on more responsibility because of a layoff within their organization. Thirty-seven percent said they are handling the work of two people. Thirty percent feel burned out.

To accommodate growing to-do lists, 34 percent of workers who kept their jobs after a layoff reported they are spending more time at the office. Seventeen percent are putting in at least 10 hours per day. Twenty-two percent are working more weekends."

Should be interesting to see if these 'burned-out' employees stick around...or if they end up moving on to other companies once the economic recovery begins.

Why should a company hire you?

Just a quick post...
I just got off the phone with a candidate.
I asked him - "Why should my client hire you?"

The candidate's response was to simply list their current job responsibilities.
Basically they rehashed the list of responsibilities that appears on their resume.

That type of answer will not get you hired!

Bottom line - on your interview - don't simply discuss your responsibilities.
Instead focus on talking about your accomplishments.

More on this topic later.....

J&J and the Merck/Schering Reverse Merger

J&J filed for arbitration to end its revenue-sharing deal with Schering-Plough, due to Schering's merger with rival drugmaker Merck.
The problem for J&J is that Merck and Schering designed their deal as a reverse merger.

Here is J&J's problem....This is traditionally how a Reverse Merger works (you can read the complete BioJobBlogger post here):

Generally speaking, a failing or failed publicly traded company that is listed on one stock exchange or another merges with a privately held company. The privately held company takes over the public stock listing and manages the day-to-day operations of the new business. Private companies that engage in reverse mergers are usually looking for cash infusions for product development or a stock listing (without going through an initial public offering) which offers it shareholders immediate cash value. Investors who previously held stock in the public company are either compensated for their shares in cash or given shares (at a negotiated price) in the new entity. Any cash (or assets) left in the public company can be used to develop the formerly private company’s product(s) and if successful, shareholders in the old public company can eventually benefit.

But last I checked, neither Merck or Schering is a private company. So why in the world would they do a reverse merger?

Here's why - Again, according to the BioJobBlogger:

Schering-Plough markets Remicade outside of the US under an agreement with Johnson and Johnson which sells the drug in America. A termination clause in the original marketing agreement stipulates that the ex-US rights to Remicade (and another drug being developed) would revert to Johnson and Johnson if control or ownership of Schering Plough changes. Remicade, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, developed by Johnson and Johnson’s subsidiary Centocor, represented $2.1 billion in sales for Schering in 2008. Further, about 70% of Schering Plough’s revenue comes from outside the US. That said, the success or failure of the deal really hinges on whether or not Johnson and Johnson will challenge the change-in-control clause for Remicade. To obviate that possibility, Merck devised an unusual reverse merger strategy in which ownership of Schering Plough will not change hands—at least on paper anyway. Instead, even though Merck is putting up the money to purchase Schering, and Richard Clark, Merck’s Chairman and CEO, will run the newly combined company, Merck would technically become a subsidiary of Schering Plough and consequently there would be no change in Schering Plough management!

It will definitely be interesting to see how the arbitration process plays out.

Where do you find the time?

I sometimes get kidded by my family and friends about the amount of time I spend on the various forms of Social Media. People who think nothing of sitting on the couch and watching a 3+ hour Yankees game...or hunkering down for a night of American Idol are always questioning me as to where do I find the time for my Blog, Twitter, Facebook etc.
Well, this afternoon I was reading Connie Crosby's blog and came across this post. Connie had embedded a video where Clay Shirky talks about this very issue.
Next time I am asked the question regarding where do I find the time...I will point them to this video.