by Jeffrey Clark on May 25, 2012
 Remember the abrupt resignation of CEO Steve MacMillan from Stryker? Well, details have finally emerged on the reason which was originally cloaked as ‘family reasons’.
It was known that MacMillan was involved in divorce proceedings with his wife. Thus, many assumed his resignation was an attempt to save that marriage. Instead, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the truth reads like a chapter from Fifty Shades of Grey.
While assumed to remain private as part of his exit from Stryker, a board meeting last month may have included a slip by Chairman William Parfet. At the meeting, without reason, Parfet offered that “Just to clarify, on behalf of the board of directors, we’d like to clearly state that Steve never violated any company policy nor any code of conduct.” From there, the rumors swirled and the truth was ultimately discovered.
It appears MacMillan was involved romantically with a flight attendant who worked on Stryker’s corporate jet fleet, a woman named Jennifer Koch (pictured). The connection was outed after an employee made an anonymous report within the company. Apparently, MacMillan did his best to clear the relationship with the company’s board, formally asking for permission in the fall of 2011. The Board consented to the relationship so long as Koch left her position as a Stryker employee. But then, questions began to arise about the timing of the relationship. The Board hired a lawyer to investigate expense reports and interview senior executives. A reasonable doubt was created that the relationship perhaps began much earlier than MacMillan let on. From there, the Board’s confidence in the CEO waned, and this spring he was ousted.
Stryker is a longstanding family business. Members of the Board still include Stryker family members. John Brown led the company as a model citizen for decades. And, apparently MacMillan’s actions ruffled some feathers.
While a talented & outstanding CEO since joining Stryker from Pharmacia in 2003, he eventually lost the moral confidence of his Board. As of today, rumor is that MacMillan is pursuing a position on the team of new J&J CEO Alex Gorsky. MacMillan previously spent over a decade within Johnson & Johnson.
Wall Street Journal
by Jeffrey Clark on May 24, 2012
 There are a handful of ‘holy grails’ in drug development. For the longest time, obesity has been on the list. Alzheimer’s is certainly one. And, a next generation cholesterol drug is another. Even with these, Novo Nordisk may have the inside track to a treatment that trumps them all.
With the related expansion of waste lines and diabetes around the world, oral insulin represents an unfathomable market opportunity. The day when diabetics can forever trash their needles and vials will be one celebrated by millions around the world.
The past decade or more has been dedicated to inhaled insulin products, which were briefly available to patients between September 2006 to October 2007 in the United States. Exubera, developed by Nektar Pharmaceuticals and sold by Pfizer, was discontinued in October 2007. According to then Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Kindler this is because Exubera “failed to gain acceptance among patients and physicians.” At the time of Exubera’s discontinuation, several other companies were pursuing inhaled insulin including Alkermes working with Lilly, Aradigm working with Novo Nordisk and Mannkind. By March 2008, all of these products had been discontinued except for MannKind’s Afrezza product. As of today, Afrezza remains under FDA review in a process that has been delayed by years and remains very uncertain.
So why the optimism? Novo Nordisk is betting $2 billion that it can develop an orally administered mega-blockbuster in the field. The progress is very, very early, proven only in animals and a handful of clinical patients. And, the process is riddled with challenges, mostly in terms of drug delivery, absorbtion and digestion. Novo Nordisk is not alone with upstarts Israel’s Oramed and India’s Biocon also making limited, early stage headway in oral insulin in the past few years.
But, a Novo Nordisk researcher put it best in the progress they have made: “When we started this, I thought it was going to be very, very difficult. Now I am really confident we will crack this one.”
Bloomberg
May 23, 2012
GE’s Healthymagination division is dominating headlines this morning with news that it has tapped former Affymetrix President Sue Siegel as its new CEO. Siegel joins GE from Mohr Davidow Ventures in Menlo Park, where she led investing into molecular diagnostics, digital health, and other technologies. Siegel is a great fit. She knows personalized medicine and [...]
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May 22, 2012
Medtronic has always been a bellwether for the medical device industry. And, in recent years, the company has been stagnant at best. Last year brought new hope in a bold new hire of a new CEO for the cardiovascular and spinal device maker. He was an outsider from GE Healthcare. He had never worked in [...]
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May 21, 2012
Have your devices approved first in Canada or Europe; it’s a faster and easier path to the market. The FDA’s process for drug and device approval is riddled with obstacles. In fact, the entire US industry is being jeopardized by a heightened regulatory scrutiny. Right? Not so fast, my friend. Those assumptions we’ve always made [...]
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May 18, 2012
Clearly taking a page and possibly emboldened by Illumina’s successful move to stave off a hostile bid from Roche last month, Human Genome Sciences has approved a shareholder-rights plan, or “poison pill,” to fend off GlaxoSmithKline’s $2.6 billion takeover offer. The provision is designed to dilute holdings if anyone attempts to acquire more than 15% [...]
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May 17, 2012
Plavix is an anti-clot or blood thinner most prescribed to prevent heart attack or stroke. It is also one of the best selling drugs in the world. More than 50 million people in the U.S. have taken Plavix since it was approved by regulators in 1997. It was discovered by French pharmaceutical company (then) Sanofi-Aventis [...]
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May 16, 2012
The diabetes market around the world is growing. And, since its latest product approval, Amylin is in the cat bird’s seat. Amylin has not commented on potential takeover bids since initial reports that Bristol-Myers Squibb made an offer last month. Now, with Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse dealing the cards, there are more than a [...]
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May 15, 2012
Below is a recent, well-written article in Forbes which correctly assumes that patent expiration and fewer drug approvals are driving the pharmaceutical industry to consolidate. The stresses facing leading drug makers have turned the entire industry into a giant Monopoly board. We’ve all witnessed the popularity of collaborations, acquisitions and licensing deals completed over the [...]
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May 15, 2012
After being rebuffed through an earlier offer to acquire Human Genome Sciences in April, GlaxoSmithKline will take its $2.6 billion tender offer directly to HGS shareholders through a hostile bid for the company. “Shareholders should have the opportunity to decide for themselves on the merits of the offer,” according to GSK. The move is designed [...]
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