Spotlight

Covering BIO events since 2009 as a guest columnist for the Metrowest News of suburban Boston or the Delaware County Daily Times of suburban Philadelphia, my motivation to launch Spotlight on BIO Advances evolved. I hope to capture personal stories behind the headlines. Unlike the past, my small community, like many, is connected through the intern... et. Thus, advances located from research funded in my backyard in the Mid-Atlantic region are connected on a daily basis to the personal stories of colleagues' work funded around the world. Solving the problems of healing, feeding, and fueling the world is crucial to the future of our region, our nation, and our world. A continually, growing trend is happening: Partnering with small and medium sized emerging biotechnology companies is a necessity for Big Pharma to fill its pipeline. Concurrently, this new ecosystem model must include dialogue with an internet savvy public. In the past, Big Pharma's approach has left out the public. As FDA Deputy Commissioner Stephen P. Spielberg puts it, "We are all patients". Since the American capital market crisis in 2008, social media has provided a tool for transparency in a climate demanding more transparency. Life sciences stakeholders need to assess their communication strategy with the public. The public are voters in specific elections while at the same time consumers of industry products and devices as well as taxpayer supporters of research and development both at the federal, state and local level. What is the payoff for the public for its investment as a stakeholder? As I wrote from BIO2009 in the Metrowest News, "The global recession is demanding that investments must yield an added value,"Mario Pennisi, CEO of Queensland Clinical Trials Network said. Taxpayers know that there are many places for its investment money. States like Queensland Australia and Maryland have implemented systems to measure the inputs invested and the outputs yielded from state dollars. Other states are heading in that direction. Big Pharma ...Read More