Saturday, July 16, 2011

Open Thread: Week Of July 18, 2011 -- A "Science" Experiment


So, each week, you -- the readers -- are encouraged to add Merck items of interest to the comment box. Hopefully you'll be able to keep one another informed while I am off attending to my other duties. I'll try to post summaries each weekend.

To get us started, here is a Pete Loftus report on Merck's R&D spend -- and how it diverges from the Pfizer model:

. . . .Frazier said he is willing to take a "few brickbats thrown in my direction" from Wall Street because of his decision earlier this year to avoid big research spending cuts, though he acknowledged he doesn't have a blank check to pour unlimited money into research.

"I'm trying to run the company in a way that I can satisfy the short- and intermediate-term needs of investors without sacrificing really what we're about," Frazier said in an interview Friday with journalists from The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

"Science and innovation are in the DNA of the company," he said. "The science will lead us to another big breakthrough."

Merck's approach to research spending has diverged from that of rival Pfizer, which said earlier this year it would slash such spending and put more money into share repurchases. . . .

Feel free to add whatever news on Merck, Schering-Plough, Organon or Warrick (or the current and former executives of each) you'd like -- below, in the comment box. Feel free to do so completely anonymously, as well. I don't -- and won't -- track these things, unless your post clearly violates applicable law (not likely).

Okay -- what did you see this week? Post it below.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

On top of all this, another round of layoffs, st New Merck -- per Pharmalot!

Ah, Fast Freddie -- gotta love what he and his crew has accomplished

[Originally posted: July 13, 2011]

Anonymous said...

Fierce BioTech has a story on accelerating efforts to license or sell large swaths of non-core Merck tech:

I wonder how many of the pipeline candidates up for sale are from the Merck vs. the S/P development candidates?

For the record, Dr. Chatterjee is a legacy S/P employee so, I think it gives more credence to your position that this was about a S/P bust up.

[Orginally posted: July 11, 2011]

Anonymous said...

[Earlier comment, but a great one!]

The real face of Merck shown.

CEO and direct disciples first and then the shareholders.

In The Netherlands the restructuring of Production started, the organizaton is not in place, the workforce 30% cut, and the remaining personnel make overtime to meet schedules.

And they have to smile and agree with the Merck method. Personnel does not know to be happy with the situation, they kept their job or to be crying because of the bad atmosphere introduced by Merck.

[Originally posted: June 21, 2011]

Anonymous said...

Merck is doomed!

Anonymous said...

The best thing that could happen to Merck requires total decapitation of the management. Self-serving and coersive, they will never change. The prevailing attitude is that they are brilliant and special. And well, if their poor decisions and lackey behaviors take the company done, well that's OK by them - they are lining their pockets right now. There have been some recent promotions to higher levels, so they can retire earlier, walking away with even more. Unbelievable. I feel like I am trying to do science in the midst of Armegeddon.

Anonymous said...

Frazier says he will invest in R&D and that R7D is the best in the world. That's not thrue. They were years behind companies they purchased, as was Schering Plough. They did not look how Organon performed R&D and what methods they used, they were for the pipeline and all the R&D had to be discarded, the sooner the better. But the R&D of Organon had the candidates for development, not Merck, not SP, that's why they bought it.