Broken Beaker moving to Boston!

Yes, Broken Beaker is moving to Boston, home of the Bruins, Celtics, and Har-vuhd! It will take me a couple of weeks to get settled into my new home (and Grad-student life) and updates will be rare until mid September, but rest assured we will be back online reporting from the hub of bio-tech in North America!

Stylin Sonar Panels

Solar Panels are starting to get a bit more fashionable, thanks to SRS Energy, which has designed solar panels which can integrate seamlessly with Spanish tile. Along with being fashionable, the average homeowner will produce 860 kwH per year! [Article]

DNA Sequencing...Half off!

Well, not really, but researchers at Stanford have figured out a really cheap (and effective) method for sequencing the human genome. The entire process only required 3 researchers and less than $50,000! Countdown until health insurance companies require a submission of its customers entire genome starts now! [Article Link]

Wyeth Under Fire

Wyeth (Just purchased by Pfizer for a whopping $68 Billion) is, well...screwed. Reports have surfaced today in the New York Times that claim Wyeth has been paying "Ghostwriters" to basically write articles for scientific journals saying how great Wyeth-produced horomones are. I guess thats not a big deal, except for the fact that, well, thats kind of a conflict of interest. Not to mention kind of illegal. Oh and did I mention that Wyeth has been caught up in a class action lawsuit? By whom you may be asking? Well, by the 8000 women who used Wyeth horomones such as Premarin and Prempro and said it made them sick. Well see how this is going to pan out, and maybe the allegations are un-founded, but my guess is that Wyeth is going to eat it on this one. [NYT Article Link]

Wanna Build A Startup?

Need a little inspiration to start up your own Biotech? An article over at Inc Magazine talks about 7 startup started by ordinary people, who, through hard work, innovation and a little bit a cash, grew their companies to be worth millions! I know, its a little more cost-intense to start a biotech, but there's definitely something to take away from this article! Check it out! [Link]

Big Pharma vs Generics, Round 2

Man, are generics becoming a hot topic or what!? The Associated Press has released a new article about the battle heating up between generic drug-makers and Big Pharma (Amgen, Pfizer, etc). In case your unfamiliar with whats going on right now (and you definetly should be, it effects anyone in the healthcare industry), Obamas recent push for Healthcare reform has riled up the big pharmaceutical companies, because theyre afraid that to cut down on costs, generic drugs will be allowed to be made sooner than later (Lower patent time = lower profits). Big Pharma is asking for a 12-year generic ban, while generic drug makers are pushing for a 5 year cap. Congress has voted on a 12 year ban on generics, but will it pass the Senate? What about the threat of a presidential veto? And how will this effect the stock-market, since recently a lot of the healthcare companies have been carrying a lot of the rallys occuring recently on Wall Street? Read the full article. [AP Article] [Past Broken Beaker Article]

BMS Future rests...on Mice?

Bristol Myers Squibb recently purchased 90% of the shares of a company called Medarex. What does Medarex do? Well, they make it easy for pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs from mice for use in humans. Why should you care? Well, it just so happens that many of the blockbuster drugs manafactured by Novartis, Amgen and BMS are manafactured by "humanizing" antibody-excreting mouse cell lines, and if Mederex's method of doing this, dubbed UltiMab, proves effecient enough, it could speed up the development time for BMS drugs, giving them a head up on the competition. Why else should you care? Well, It should also be noted that pharmaceuticals derived from cell lines are the exact same drugs being targeted by the 12 year "generic ban" being talked about in the Senate nowadays (and that weve talked about in previous articles), so any new drugs developed from cell lines will be exclusive to the company that develops it for a long time, meaning big money for the pharmaceutical companies. BMS stock is only $20 a share, now might be a good time to buy...[Article Link] [UltiMab Link]

The Zen of Zappos

What does Zappos, an online shoe retailer and Amazon.com have anything to do with Biotech or Business? Everything. I read this article a couple of months ago about Tony Hsieh, and how his unique management style has pushed Zappos to the top of its game in online shoe sales. I was really intrigued about how he employs unique ways of keeping his employees motivated and making sure they are dedicated, such as offering new trainees $2000 to walk away from the company (read the article to find out why). Every company should read this article (especially Biotechs, which are plagued with antiquated management systems) and really re-evaluate their management style, maybe they can learn a thing or to from Tony. Apparently Amazon.com thought Tonys method of management was so intriguing and worked so well that they bought Zappos for $900 million dollars., yet will let it remain an independent company, which is pretty rare for a buyout. [Link]

Shocking Facebook News

I love those studies that prove something that 99% of people already knew, like the fact that Facebook sucks up worker productivity. The people at Nucleus Research published a study that says that workers check their Facebook an average of 15 minutes a day, resulting in a loss of 1.5% productivity. If i were a betting man, i would wage that the actual number is even higher! BusinessWeek argues that it may be that instead of taking "real breaks", people now take "virtual breaks". [Link]

How to leave your job...gracefully.

Considering the tumultuous economic environment we live in, a lot of you have either been laid off recently or have been hired by another company. Here's an article that talks about the best way to leave a company, and leave your ex-employees and managers happy. No matter how much you would love to tell off your boss, kick over your cubicle, or steal the office fax machine and smash it in the park, its probably better you dont. You never know, the Manager of the company that fires you today could be the CEO of the company that hires you in 5 years...Check out the article. [Link]

Virus Batteries, wave of the Future.

Talk about cool, some MIT Graduate students have genetically engineered viruses to form batteries! The viruses (a harmless bacteriophage) are able to produce both the cathode and anode portion of a battery, and have been used by the grad students to power small LED displays. Eventually the technology could be refined to power such everyday items as TV's, Cars, etc, but how long until they are available commercially? That remains to be seen, but since this is a U.S. Army funded project, i doubt it will be available (to consumers) anytime soon. Check it out! [Article]

Exxon investing in Algae

A couple of days ago we posted an article on Broken Beaker about algae possibly being an alternative source for jet fuel. Well apparently, Exxon Mobil thinks that algae derived Bio fuels could be a thing of the future, because today they announced they have $300 million dollar deal with Synthetic Genomics. What does Synthetic Genomics do? Their goal is to start looking for a genetically modified species of algae that will be able to produce commercially viable quantities of fuel. Whenever Exxon Mobil throws money at a "green energy alternative", that's a big deal. Read the article here! [Link]

Coal for the Future?

At least that was what the Germans thought in the late 70's! German scientists at the time were trying to figure out a way to design a process for deriving gasoline from coal, due to fluctuating petroleum prices. The idea never really took off, but it provides a great example of how now matter how well you might think you can predict a trend (i.e. German scientists seeing coal gasoline as the wave of the future), you could be tottaly off the mark. [Link]

Cloud Computing and Biotech

A lot of pharmaceutical and biotech companies require a large IT infrastructure to handle the amount of data a biotech produces, which at times, can be daunting. Experimental data, patents, complex biochemical applications all require computer usage, which can be costly for a company (buying servers, hiring IT staff, upkeep, etc.). However, some larger companies like Eli Lilly and Pfizer are looking to cut those costs with cloud computing. Cloud computing basically offsets any worlkload that a computer might do locally to a server offsite. This way, a company doesnt have to worry about IT maintanace and can focus on research. Cloud computing is actually pretty affordable and scalable too. Now that larger biotechs have adopted cloud computing, can this market penetrate into low and mid-level biotechs?

Generics Drug Companies Take on Big Pharma

It looks like generic drug makers and traditional pharmaceutical companies are planning to duke it out in the next couple of months, and the results could have long lasting effects on the health care industry. One of the most hotly-contested issues right now among pharmaceutical companies is the time frame for which companies can start developing generic drugs. Right now the big pharmaceutical companies like J&J, Amgen, and Pfizer are recently pushing for a 14 year(!) exclusivity for moneymaking drugs such as Lipitor and Celebrex because the companies are claiming anything less than 14 years will "crush innovation". Why? Because they argue smaller companies, before they are acquired, take many years to develop a drug. Generic drug makers are arguing that 7 years is fair for both types of pharmaceutical companies and will allow people who cant afford name brand drugs to get the proper health care they need. What do you think? Are the traditional pharmaceutical companies being to greedy, or do they have a point? [Article 1][Article 2]

Hey GPCR Researchers!

G Protein-coupled receptors. You've probably never heard of them, but around 50% of pharmaceuticals target GPCR's, making research regarding them crucial. Biocompare has a great article on where the GPCR industry is headed and some equipment to help you researchers along the way. [Link]

Is the Obama Administration reaching out to Scientists?

MSNBC has an article on the Obama administration and its recent pushes for stem cell reform and "green power" initiatives. Is the so called "War on Science", which plagued the Bush presidency over? Was there even a war on science during the Bush years, or just a lack of public interest? Is the Obama Administration signalling an end between the dischord between the average American and Scientists, or will scientific theory continue to rile the public? Do Obamas effort signal a push in the scientific sector? The article discusses a lot of these points, and basically concludes the problem is a lot more complex. Its a very interetsing read. [Link]

Dark Times = New Startups

Bad news abounds recently. Dismal job reports, a sagging economy, and record unemployment rates have got everyone down. But fret not, for now is a great time to create a start-up! Inc magazine makes some great arguments for starting a company now-adays, even going as far to say that "there's never a bad time to start a health care company". Read the full article here. [Link]

The Nano-Space Race!

Nanotech and particle accelerators could make near-light speed travel a reality one day. This article on MSNBC discusses how that one day (within our lifetimes) we could be sending tiny satellites into space capable of reaching other solar systems! Looks like nanotech has been getting a lot of media attention recently (over 4 articles have been posted here in the last month), along with space travel! Read the article here. [Link]

Google Chrome OS...how will it effect Biotech?

So in a move thats sure to challenge the long dominant Microsoft Windows (and irk Google ally, Apple), Google has officially announced the Google Chrome OS. Why should Biotechs care? Because every Laboratory uses computers to some extent, and a lot of those computers use Windows. Also, because every single PC needs its own copy of Windows XP/Vista/7, most companies are going to fork out a lot of cash for a Windows upgrade every couple of years. Whats different about Googles Chrome OS? Well, at first it will only be targeted at netbooks (i.e. a stripped down OS), but if my assumption is correct, like most other software from Google. Chrome OS will most likely be free. Yes free. And that means a lot less money spent on Windows upgrades, and more money spent on R&D. Do you think Googles Chromes OS will be able to handle the needs of most low to mid-level biotech companies? [Link]