The Laszlo Letter

EMC buys Business Edge - Implications for Life Sciences

Although I've known about this for quite some time, it is now official that EMC has purchased New Jersey based Business Edge Solutions.

A recent article here, for example, discusses EMC's reaction to concerns in the channel that by building its consulting business through acquisitions, it will take business away from their own channel partners. This is known as channel conflict.

That, however, is not the focus of this article, which is more about the impact of this acquisition on our own Life Sciences Industry.

First, let's BILL all the lawyers!

OK, I couldn't help it. I just had to edit that famous quote from Shakespeare. Why? Because this post is all about software that can help lawyers bill other lawyers for the services they provide.

In particular, I wanted to highlight two case studies (J&J and Merck) discussing how in-house counsel can make use of software for processing invoices received from outside counsel. Both of these come from the software vendor DataCert based in Houston, Texas and London, England.

The product highlighted is called Advanced Invoice Management System (AIMS) and was implemented by J&J and Merck in the past four years.

Bridging Pharma and IT

"The beatings will continue until morale improves!"

I was reminded of this quote on receiving a brochure from Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) promoting their upcoming "3rd Annual Bridging Pharma and IT" conference. For those who are interested, the meeting will be held in Boston from September 30 to October 2, 2007.

The quote popped into my head after a momentary feeling of dismay that after 20-30 years of discussion this "bridge" has still to be completed. Apparently there has been much talk and little action. Or perhaps, more correctly, very little effective action.

And so, we continue to "beat" the issue in hopes of positive progress. I'd like to suggest, however, that a different approach is needed. Perhaps one that does not require bridges at all.

But first, let me give you my take on this conference.

ATM and Credit Card fees during foreign travel

  I took a nice long vacation to Italy last year and learned the hard way that banks can charge you excessive fees on ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases. This is in contrast to what I would normally be charged when using the same services in my native country, the United States.

Here is an example. I used an ATM machine in Genoa, Italy to withdraw €300. The local bank charged me about €2 for this privilege. No problem with that! They are providing me with a useful service and I'm not a regular customer.

When I got home and received my Chase bank statement, I found a separate fee of $12.38. BIG problem with the additional fee!

So, here is the bottom line. If you stay home and withdraw about $400 from an ATM you will be hit with a small ATM fee from the local bank. If you go to another country and do the same, you will still pay the ATM fee and also get hit with a fee of 3% on the total amount you withdrew! The same can happen with any credit card purchases.

Where I come from we would call this a "rip off." In other words, my bank thinks that it's OK to extract whatever they can from my wallet without giving me any commensurate services in return. Consider that the entire transaction is done electronically and the most the bank's computers need to do is look up the exchange rate, calculate the US dollar equivalent from the original Euro amount and make the deduction in my account.

So, I'm outraged. But what can any of us do about this situation? Well, read on...

Forest Labs - Words of wisdom...

I'm pretty sure that reading corporate annual reports is not on the To Do list of too many people. It certainly is not on mine. However, I have made it a point to read the one from Forest Labs since it's CEO, Howard Solomon, normally has some interesting things to say. On that score, the 2007 report did not disappoint.

Take this concise quote, for example:

"If even peanuts can be fatal to some people, how can we expect all drugs to be safe for everybody?"

And, there is more...

My Lost Month

By looking at the publication dates of my posts, it became painfully clear that I did not write a single piece in July. So, I think I owe you an explanation.

Writing The Laszlo Letter is a hobby. Something that I love doing but recognize that it does not put food on the table. With the latter in mind, my simple excuse is that I was completely immersed doing work for three different clients, each of which decided that things had to be finished by the end of July. Thankfully, all of these are now out of the way and I again have some leisure time on my hands.

And yes, I was concerned that readership would drop if no new articles appeared. Thankfully, this has not happened. I thank you for that.

So, check back often since I will be posting new items starting yesterday!

Merck - The Born Again Pharma Giant

It should come as no surprise that people are moved to action only when tragedy strikes.

Such is the case with Merck, a company that for years lived in a cocoon of complacency. Yes, this was a much admired company that had a right to boast of its research and marketing muscle. As it often happens, inertia set in and it became easier to go with the status quo rather than seek continuous improvement. The latter, of course, requires being honest with yourself

Now, following the Vioxx debacle, Merck seems to have woken up. It is taking steps that should have been taken in any case. What I'm suggesting, of course, is that Merck had problems wholly unrelated to Vioxx that needed fixing.

Witness the latest article in Business Week, wherein CEO Richard Clark confesses to the inertia noted above. Here is just one quote from that article:

"Clark had watched the company degenerate into a collection of fiefdoms more focused on advancing their own agendas than on getting the right drugs to patients."