I'm living in Canada, running a headhunting firm called Cortex Search Inc.. My business revenue is dependent on biotech companies hiring new positions, or filling vacant positions.
Success has come from my business being drawn from small biotech companies, usually less than 100 people, and 99% of the time the companies are funded, but have no revenue. The good companies stay around until there is no chance their product will be a success. Not because they ran out of money, but because their product had no potential to save lives or improve quality of life.
Now, it seems, some of the biotech executives are feeling like the boys from detroit. A biotech bailout was recently proposed.
If ever an industry would understand Darwin, i thought it would be the biotech industry.
Trust me, show investors a drug that helps cancer patients, lowers cholesterol, relieves pain, treats arthritis effectively, etc., there will be investors... Enless their money was with Bernie Madoff.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
My country is falling apart. Oh, Canada ;-(
For those of you that aren't Canadian, but are somewhat alert, i want to let you know that a "political coup" is going on here at the federal level.
Simply go to any of the newspapers like "The National Post" or "The Globe and Mail" and you'll see that the federal government, albeit a minority, is about to be taken over by a coalition of the other parties. Basically, we have four parties; the current "conservative" party (pretty left if you're an american, though) a socialist party (NDP), a Liberal Party, and The Bloc Quebecois (BQ). The BQ party is a separatist party supporting Quebec to separate from Canada, and they are the party holding the democratic rights and privaledges of the other 9 provinces of this country in their hands that are open for federal money, and using that money to promote succession from Canada.
For my American readers, all the parties up here are more like the Democratic party than any resemblance to the Republican Party. Although, that view probably differs the further west you go in Canada.
Another election is not far off in Canada, and that will cost another $300 million dollars, so almost $1billion tax dollars going to elections in Canada; during the worst economic environment in history.
GET BACK TO GOVERNING THE NATION, STOP WASTING OUR MONEY. ALL THE PARTIES SHOULD WORK TOGETHER, AS ALLIES NOT FOES AS JOBS DISSAPPEAR, TAX REVENUE DECREASES, AND COMPANIES CLOSE THEIR DOORS.
I apologize, more stuff relevant to what the nature of this blog should be about tomorrow.
I'm moving to the Antarctic. Oh, wait, I think I read somewhere the ice shelf down there is about to collapse, just like western economies.
I hope the future holds more promise than tomorrow.
Simply go to any of the newspapers like "The National Post" or "The Globe and Mail" and you'll see that the federal government, albeit a minority, is about to be taken over by a coalition of the other parties. Basically, we have four parties; the current "conservative" party (pretty left if you're an american, though) a socialist party (NDP), a Liberal Party, and The Bloc Quebecois (BQ). The BQ party is a separatist party supporting Quebec to separate from Canada, and they are the party holding the democratic rights and privaledges of the other 9 provinces of this country in their hands that are open for federal money, and using that money to promote succession from Canada.
For my American readers, all the parties up here are more like the Democratic party than any resemblance to the Republican Party. Although, that view probably differs the further west you go in Canada.
Another election is not far off in Canada, and that will cost another $300 million dollars, so almost $1billion tax dollars going to elections in Canada; during the worst economic environment in history.
GET BACK TO GOVERNING THE NATION, STOP WASTING OUR MONEY. ALL THE PARTIES SHOULD WORK TOGETHER, AS ALLIES NOT FOES AS JOBS DISSAPPEAR, TAX REVENUE DECREASES, AND COMPANIES CLOSE THEIR DOORS.
I apologize, more stuff relevant to what the nature of this blog should be about tomorrow.
I'm moving to the Antarctic. Oh, wait, I think I read somewhere the ice shelf down there is about to collapse, just like western economies.
I hope the future holds more promise than tomorrow.
Monday, December 1, 2008
BREAKING NEWS: "US IS IN A RECESSION" - oh ya, and Biotech funding down. Go figure.
I received a newsflash from CNN that the US is in a recession. Isnt that like telling your friend he has a pimple on his face after he's already popped it?
Regardless, a friend of mine keeps forwarding me the doom and gloom of the biotech industry, including an article detailing the fiscal troubles on the horizons.
Read the article here from the Boston Globe called "Biotech Firms cutting back as capital grows scarce"
I thought about the article's content then replied to my friend with the following:
The financing may be down in some areas, true. However, companies with a good drug program in place won't die, as pharma companies are still (at least for now) cash rich and investing in smaller biotechs or buying them. Companies with shit drugs, ideas or products will die, and allow better new drugs and products to flow. The university is a strong place where drugs get discovered.
Let's hope academic research funding doesn't get slashed too much as tax revenue dwindles, and nation deficits and debt rise, that would put a huge black hole into innovative drug and diagnostic discovery. A perfect example of this is: "Stem Cell spin-offs merge with $18MM in new VC Cash", in an article I saw at www.fiercebioresearcher.com.
Regardless, a friend of mine keeps forwarding me the doom and gloom of the biotech industry, including an article detailing the fiscal troubles on the horizons.
Read the article here from the Boston Globe called "Biotech Firms cutting back as capital grows scarce"
I thought about the article's content then replied to my friend with the following:
The financing may be down in some areas, true. However, companies with a good drug program in place won't die, as pharma companies are still (at least for now) cash rich and investing in smaller biotechs or buying them. Companies with shit drugs, ideas or products will die, and allow better new drugs and products to flow. The university is a strong place where drugs get discovered.
Let's hope academic research funding doesn't get slashed too much as tax revenue dwindles, and nation deficits and debt rise, that would put a huge black hole into innovative drug and diagnostic discovery. A perfect example of this is: "Stem Cell spin-offs merge with $18MM in new VC Cash", in an article I saw at www.fiercebioresearcher.com.
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