QDIS Blog

Seems there has been a lot of negative press regarding the pharmaceutical industry lately. One of these is that GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay $14 million to 49 states for costs related to Medicaid payments for Paxil. This suit was brought by New York Attorney General Mark Spitzer and the accusation is that Glaxo used fraudulent tactics to delay generic competition. Glaxo also agreed to publicly disclose information from its clinical trials.

Email Ed Vawter

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I found this article interesting stating that Genentech has chosen Hillsboro, Oregon as a site for future expansion of a “finish/fill” facility. This is good news for Oregon as it will bring about 300 jobs by 2015 to the area. I have stated on several occasions to people in the Oregon Bioscience Association that this is the sort of facility that fits well with some of the trained people in the area. This area of Oregon has been known as the Silicon Forest because of the number of silicon related companies in the area. However, layoffs due to downturns in the semiconductor industry has resulted in folks who have experience working in controlled environments being available. Some of the same processes and training for keeping an area clean and free of containments apply to both industries. I’m glad to see Oregon finally getting more of a biotech/biopharma industry into the state.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do own a few shares of Genentech stock.

Email Ed Vawter

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