Pharmaceutical Executive-01-01-2001

Although the extremely close race for the White House and for control of Congress in November signaled a lack of consensus on national health policy, voters have made it clear they are unhappy about the high cost of medical products. That was one of the few issues to emerge from the political haze, and it promises to shape the debate on numerous health and medical topics. The deadline for reauthorizing the FDA user fee program in 2002 also provides a timeframe for developing new programs and policies affecting a number of critical pharma issues.

In recent years, some of the industry's largest companies have said "I do" at the merger altar. Midsized pharma, small biotech, and genomics companies have also joined the mating frenzy. The mixed results of those unions have left shareholders, customers, and employees wondering-are such marriages made in heaven or in hell?

Surrounded by Georgia pines, Solvay's facilities on the outskirts of Marietta are a long way from the industry's hub in New Jersey. The stately campus is tucked away in a quiet world of its own, much as the company used to be.

Yes, there will be a new administration. Yes, there will be changes at FDA. And yes, they will impact drug companies. But predicting what that impact will be is like trying to pick the winner of an NFL game.

When Harry Schwartz joined Pharmaceutical Executive for its inaugural issue in January 1981, he had already written 19 books and was well-known for his medical-related writings in the New York Times and other publications. Every month since then, without fail, he has faithfully supplied his At Large column, with its far-ranging analysis and commentary on political and business trends that affect the industry. Every magazine changes over time, and now a series of changes has brought an end to that distinguished, 20-year-long contribution.

My parents recently showed me an old news photo of my brother being moved from one hospital to another, in his iron lung. The year was 1950. Just seven years old, visibly smiling as usual in his overhead mirror, Gary lay prone as a small crowd of medics guided the huge wheeled cylinder toward a waiting ambulance. Polio had widely destroyed the motor neurons in his brain and spinal cord, and his muscles had atrophied from lying still. The iron lung pushed and pulled his chest through the breathing cycle. Gary lived only a few months after the photo's dateline.