Chicago Trib Board should throw book and more at CEO Daniels
October 19, 2010
In his piece, Carr reports that Randy Michaels, a former radio executive and disc jockey, was “ handpicked” by Sam Zell, the Times Mirror’s new controlling shareholder, to run much of the media company’s vast collection of properties, including The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, WGN America and The Chicago Cubs”.
As I wrote in a letter to the New York Times,
Letter: The Troubled Tribune
I’m appalled and saddened by the irresponsible attitudes and actions of those now in command of a once respected, trustworthy pillar of the fourth estate. Even if (especially if?) those in charge care more about making money than fulfilling their privileged societal watchdog role they must be subject to the same laws prohibiting sexual discrimination and harassment as are all other businesses across the land.
Building 19: Copy to be emulated?
October 8, 2010
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I am a secret admirer of Building 19′s copywriters–whomever s/he/ they may be.
I have friends who won’t set foot in the bargain stores–which, according to the latest circular, were founded in 1964, when a ship originally sailed by Christopher Columbus finally arrived in Hingham. (That does make you wonder how long some of their merchandise-aka “good stuff cheap”–has been lying around). And I admit–that even I, the penultimate bargain shopper–have been known to remark that you need to take a shower after you experience shopping there.
But how can you not be drawn in to a come-on like this:
WOULD YOU LIKE A HIGH POWERED CAREER IN ADVERTISING?
And not laugh when it goes on to say, “If so, this is not for you.”
(The ad, on the front page of Building 19′s October 8 flier, continues: …but if you want to work on the Building #19 circular in a fun atmosphere, rework a few pages from this circular and send them along with a resume (preferably yours) to Human Resources or email: hr@building19.com).
And how ’bout the ad for “Hat’s entertainment–(featuring Halloween hats such as Fuzzy Brim the Pirate, the Don Corleone Straw, the Linda Blair special–featuring devil’s horns)?
And the one for Liz Claiborne II, a second and ”brand new shipment” of Liz Claiborne shoes? It includes pictures of “the ACTUAL stickers from the boxes ” and a warning to “Hurry in to beat the madness, this time around.”
My point is that in writing copy, you need to understand your audience and what will motivate them to get out there and buy your stuff. Building 19 certainly does have the knack: its home page even features a link to its “Classic Ads.“ But enough of this. Life is short and I gotta go–those shoes won’t be there forever.
–Anita M. Harris
Anita M. Harris is president of the Harris Communications Group, a marketing communications and public relations firm in Cambridge, MA.
Companion Diagnostics: New Worry for Pharma Execs
September 23, 2010
Pharma execs with blockbuster drugs on the market should be up staying at night strategizing in case someone comes up with a “companion diagnostic” that the FDA requires before the blockbuster can be prescribed.
So write Scientia Advisors authors Amit Agarwal and Jonathan Pan in “Theranostics and Already Approved Drugs: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You,” published in the 2010-2011 Parexel Yearbook.
Disclosure: Scientia is my client.
In the article, Agarwal, partner, and Pan, senior associate, describe the situation that led the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require warning labels and recommend diagnostic testing for the blockbuster drug Plavix more than 10 years after the anti-thrombotic hit the market. Plavix is marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis to prevent myocardiofaction (MI) or strokes.
As early as 2001, when Plavix had been on the market for four years, studies began to show that Plavix helped certain patients more than others, the authors write. By 2008, genetic testing by a competing pharmaceutical company showed that nearly one-third of Plavix users did not fully benefit from the drug. Based on these and other trial results, in 2010 the FDA required that the manufacturers include a “black box” warning label and a diagnostic testing recommendation for the product.
In 2009, Plavix had worldwide sales of $9.5B including $5.6 B in the US. As a result of the FDA diagnostic testing recommendation, the authors project that by 2012, BMS and Sanofi Aventis will lose $450M to $575M in sales in the US alone– and more if regulators in other nations add requirements. “Given the need to maximize revenue in the face of generic competition across their portfolios, it is a significant amount to offset.” Other drugs, prescribed in conjunction with Plavix, will also most likely be impacted.
Agarwal and Pan recommend a number of actions that pharmaceutical executives can take to mitigate such potential post-launch losses.
- Expand competitive landscape and threat assessment coverage to monitor the diagnostic environment for new research and clinical trials which could potentially impact the sales of marketed drugs
- Upgrade skills, capabilities, reporting relationships and the organizational clout of the theranostic function
- Develop organizational structures that allow knowledge of new biomarkers and clinical trials to reach commercial decision makers
Scientia Advisors’ article is available in the PAREXEL’s Bio/Pharma R&D Statistical Sourcebook 2010/2011 at Barnett Educational Services.
—Anita M. Harris, President, Harris Communications Group
Scientia Advisors, located in Boston and San Francisco, is a management consulting firm specializing in growth strategies for major and emerging companies in health care, life sciences, biotechnology and nutrition.
HarrisComBlog is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and marketing communications firm in Cambridge, MA.
Quick “Point-of-Care” (POC) Medical Testing Is On the Rise
September 15, 2010
Ever wait anxiously for days to get the results of medical tests? Such periods may eventually become passe as new methods for analyzing blood and other tests increasingly allow quick turnaround times in doctors offices, “rapid clinics,” and even in patients’ homes.
According to a new review of the global “point of care” testing industry released today by Scientia Advisors, a Cambridge, San Francisco strategy consulting firm (yes, my client!)–the market for point-of -care medical tests (those analyzed in close proximity to patients)–is growing at 8 per cent–and even faster for certain types of tests and in the developing world.
Harry Glorikian, Scientia’s managing partner, points out that this growth is fueled in part by a trend toward decentralization of health care—in which testing and treatment are migrating from hospital labs to settings such as emergency rooms, outpatient, doctor’s offices, rapid and urgent care clinics, and homes.
But, he points out, “companies bringing point-of-care (POC) tests to market must consider not only accuracy, reliability and ease of use, but also the challenges of gaining clinical acceptance and meeting sometimes-onerous regulatory and reimbursement requirements.”
Based on primary and secondary research and proprietary analysis, Scientia projects that the POC testing market, which includes professional and over-the-counter segments, will experience compound annual growth of 8%, from $11.6B in 2008 to $18.4B through 2013 —with additional potential for growth in emerging economies.
While diabetes is the largest segment of the POC testing market, infectious disease testing, a smaller segment, has high growth potential due to (1) increasing awareness of public health problems such as flu, chlamydia and hospital-acquired infections (2) potential availability of disruptive, point-of-care molecular diagnostics and (3) increased adoption of POC testing in emerging markets.
Scientia also found that:
- While the US is a major influencer in the global POC testing market, the developing world will experience the fastest growth—especially in China and India, where the governments plan to open thousands of rural clinics.
- In the current economic slowdown, US retail giants such as CVS and Wal-Mart have closed many rapid clinics. As a result, rapid clinics may need new strategies, such as partnering with hospitals, to remain viable.
- Next-generation, portable, easy-to-use technologies, which promise greater accuracy, convenience and clinical impact, will fuel the growth of many POC segments.
- Stringent regulatory and reimbursement requirements and a need for pharmaco-economic studies remain barriers to widespread POC adoption in the US and abroad.
Scientia’s review, “The Point-of-Care Diagnostics Market: Growth Drivers and Challenges to Widespread Adoption”, is available for download at no cost at www.scientiaadv.com.
—Anita M. Harris
Harriscom blog is a publication of the Harris Communications Group is a marketing communications and public relations firm located in Boston, MA.
###
The New York Times doesn’t need me to provide free advertising (I hope!) –but I found today’s business section fabulous for anyone interested in social media and media relations and thought I’d share some of the wealth.
First–David Carr, in The Zeal of a Convert to Twitter writes about how long-form magazine journalist, Buzz Bissinger, the author of “Friday Night Lights,” got hooked on twitter…
Then, there are Noam Cohen’s piece on Wiki Leaks: A Renegade Site, Now Working With the News Media
and Claire Cain Miller and Ashlee Vance on Bing and Google in a Race for Features .
Robert Cyran opines on how the growing popularity of the Ipad could present problems for many tech industries in iPad shift may wreak havoc on parts of tech sector…
and Jenna Wortham describes “tumbler,” a blogging platform that sounds like a cross of Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress, and which, supposedly, many media companies are starting to use to promote themselves. Media Companies Try Getting Social With Tumblr .
There are also articles on the UAR’s attempt to block blackberry messaging unless BB allows government monitoring, there, and Clarie Miller’s piece, New Site Aims to Connect Reporters and Publicists , which describes NewsBasis, a site on which journalists can get queries to potential sources, which launched today.
Founded by Darryl Siry, a freelance writer for Wired and a marketing executive, the new site sounds much like Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out, (AKA HARO) in that it allows journalists to post questions or search for sources– asking questions anonymously to avoid tipping off competitors.
Speaking as former journalist, I can’t imagine giving away ideas, even anonymously–tho fishing in public is certainly easier than digging for sources.
Evidently, on NewsBasis, sources can also add a footnote to articles across the Web, so when reporters are doing research using their Web browser, a tab will appear indicating that a NewsBasis source has offered a different point of view or corrected a fact.
I hope this wasn’t too much information for one shot…but, hey, it’s the information age, we’re talking about here. I’ll be interested in seeing how all of this works out.
Anita M. Harris
Anita M. Harris is president of the Harris Communications Group, a marketing communications, media relations and social media firm in Cambridge, MA.
Instrumentation Labs’ New Test for Neonates
July 29, 2010
I’ve been working with Instrumentation Laboratory, a Bedford, MA company, to spread the word about its new diagnostic test that helps prevent brain injury in newborns. Newly cleared by the FDA, it’s first-ever, rapid point-of-care, lab-quality blood test for measuring total bilirubin (tBili) in neonates.
Bilirubin, a toxin, can, in high amounts, lead to irreversible brain injury in neonates. The new tBili assay is performed on IL’s GEM Premier 4000 critical care analyzer. It allows clinicians to receive lab-quality test results in 90 seconds fromwhole blood in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), rather than wait up to an hour for results from the lab, using traditional chemistry methods.
During the first few days of life, the body breaks down fetal red blood cells, producing bilirubin. More bilirubin is produced than the liver can remove, and it remains circulating in the blood.
This results in jaundice, the most common condition requiring medical attention in newborns, present in approximately 70%. However, in 8-10% of newborns, jaundice progresses to severe hyperbilirubinemia. Left untreated, hyperbilirubinemia can quickly evolve into kernicterus, a devastating, irreversible neonatal brain injury.
IL announced that it had received the FDA clearance for the test on Tuesday, at the annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. For more information, check out the Instrumentation Laboratory (US) Web site-http://www.instrumentationlaboratory.com/ilus.aspx .
—Anita Harris
HarrisCom Blog is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish New Cambridge Observer and Ithaca Diaries Blogs.
My client, Scientia Advisors, has found that the market for certain advanced medical testing methods is poised for accelerated growth.
Scientia, a management consulting firm, recommends that many diagnostics companies reexamine their portfolios and business models to position themselves for growth.
Immunoassays are laboratory tests used to identify and quantify blood components associated with particular diseases. Immunoassays are a key growth area within in vitro diagnostics (tests conducted in laboratories, as opposed to those carried out in living organisms).
Based on a review released on June 28, 2010, Scientia Advisors Founding Partner Arshad Ahmed said: “Most current immunoassay technologies focus on detecting one or several proteins in a patient’s blood/serum or other samples.
“However, novel markers and new technologies that can detect and measure multiple markers simultaneously will become increasingly available in the next several years.”
Such advanced technologies—already used in diagnosing and treating infectious diseases, cancer, and kidney injury—are faster, more accurate and more cost-effective than many “traditional” tests. As a result, they may command higher prices and are driving growth in the overall immunoassay market.
What is more, for diagnostics players, marketing and business models are changing, according to Ahmed. Pharmaceutical companies are beginning to incorporate diagnostic tests into their sales processes. And certain diagnostics companies are adopting a “sole service provider” model—in which tests are marketed directly to physicians and performed in company-run laboratories.
In light of these changes, “it is crucial that companies in the diagnostics space re-examine their business strategies in order to compete successfully in the coming years,” Ahmed said.
Review highlights:
- The $7.7B immunoassay market, which comprises one fifth of the $37B in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market, grew approximately 6% a year between 2005 and 2007. The immunoassay market has since shown 9% compound annual growth — a rate that is expected to continue through 2012, largely due to technology advancements.
- Growth in the immunoassay market will be driven by the emergence of (1) ultra-sensitive platforms, which enable detection of analytes at minute concentrations; (2) multiplex technologies, which allow simultaneous analysis of multiple compounds and (3) novel biomarkers that increase the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis or treatment.
- Emerging economies, such as China’s, are experiencing robust immunoassay market growth.
- Personalized medicine and new business models such as the bundling of immunoassays with marketed drugs and the sole service provider areare changing industry paradigms.
*
Scientia’s study, Strategic Review of Immunoassays: Seeing Beyond the Market Inflection Point”. is available for download at no cost at www.scientiaadv.com.
—Anita M. Harris
Harriscom Blog is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.
###
A new review by my client, Scientia Advisors, finds that, with the market for biologic drugs growing much faster than that of drugs based on chemical compounds, many biopharma companies are repositioning and forming new alliances in order to succeed in a rapidly changing pharmaceutical landscape.
In the review, released today, Scientia reports that revenue growth for the small molecule (chemically-based) drug segment has slowed and will begin to decline within three years as numerous blockbuster drugs go off patent and are replaced by less expensive generic substitutes.
In contrast, the market for biologics (based on living matter) which comprises approximately one-third of the overall pharmaceutical market, increased at a 21% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2003 and 2008, to $110B.
While the CAGR for biologics has since slowed to 8%, Scientia projects 2013 revenues of $165B, due largely to rapid growth in monoclonal antibodies. Scientia also projects growth opportunities in the vaccine and cell therapy segments.
Many biologics command relatively high prices and require complex and expensive manufacturing processes. To keep costs down, biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly seeking to outsource their manufacturing to contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs).
In addition, “numerous biologic therapies with total revenues of $37B will have lost patent protection by 2017, promising considerable opportunity in biosimilars (government-approved new versions of branded biopharmaceutical products following patent expiration),” Glorikian said. “As a result, pharmaceutical, generic drug, and contract manufacturing companies are joining forces to enter the biosimilars space. To be successful, they must take into account the considerable technical, competitive, and regulatory hurdles that will be involved.”
Scientia Advisors’ review, entitled “Assessing the Biopharmaceutical Market: Promises and Challenges,” is available for download at no charge from www.scientiaadv.com.
–Anita M. Harris
HarriscomBlog is a publication of the Harris Communications Group–a public relations, content and thought leadership firm in Cambridge, MA. We also publish New Cambridge Observer.
