New Article in March 2010 Life Science Leader

I recently had an article published in Life Science Leader entitled “What Corporate Directors Need to Know About Intellectual Property”.  You can view it by clicking this link: Life Science Leader

Posted using ShareThis

Time to Reassess Hatch-Waxman Exclusivity? Interesting Proposal re Hatch-Waxman Data Exclusivity in recent issue of SCIENCE

These days the TV news and published media is abounding with reports of the debate over data exclusivity with regard to biosimilars (follow-on biologic drugs).  The complexity of biologics makes it impossible to analyze them in a laboratory to the degree possible with chemical drugs, and to show without clinical trials that one biologic has the same safety and effectiveness profile as another.  The FDA for decades has taken the position that each biologic is unique and inexorably linked to and inseparable from the manufacturing processes used in its creation.  Complex operational and proprietary details of the manufacturing processes are central to and define the identity and unique molecular safety and effectiveness attributes of each biologic.  Even if it were possible to establish “sameness” of biologics without clinical trials, agency reviewers would be unable to perform the rigorous scientific comparative assessment necessary to reach legitimate conclusions about “sameness” without first examining trade secret data concerning the manufacturing processes of the innovator, which is prohibited by law.  It is not surprising then that the manufacturers of biologic drugs have been pushing for long (and longer) periods of exclusivity to recoup their costs of long years of R&D and because it has been posited that the average biologic drug does not cover its costs until 17 years after it starts selling the product.  With a great deal of legislating going on right now in connection with biosimilars, I was surprised to read about a proposal by two professors in a recent issue of SCIENCE that advocated increasing the duration of Hatch-Waxman exclusivity for convention chemical compound drugs.

In the October 16, 2009 issue of SCIENCE, Matthew J. Higgins (College of Management, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA) and Stuart J. H. Graham (Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, University of California, Berkeley Law School, Berkeley, CA), note that the number of new compounds approved annually by the FDA has fallen from an average of 35 in 1996-2001 to 20 in 2002-07.  According to the authors, this decline stems from several factors; however, the authors assert that one particular U.S. regulation—the Paragraph IV patent challenge—is increasingly stifling new drug innovation.

Many of us who work in the pharmaceutical sector are well aware that a newly approved chemical drug by the FDA is typically awarded 5 years of data exclusivity during which generic versions of the approved drug many not be approved/marketed.  (There is, however, a provision under the Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act whereby companies that produce generic drugs can challenge patents on the approved drug after 4 years, thus commencing the process of competing with the brand-name drug before their full exclusivity period ends. 21 USC 355(c)(3)(E)(ii)).

To market a generic version, the law requires a company to file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the FDA that specifies how the generic version relates to the brand-name drug and its patents.  A Paragraph IV challenge under the Hatch-Waxman Act permits generic-producing companies to challenge each patent associated with the brand-name drug, stating either that (1) the patent is invalid, or (ii) the generic drug in the ANDA does not infringe patent.  After an ANDA is submitted with a Paragraph IV challenge, a lengthy lawsuit typically ensues and though the ANDA approval that involves (one or more) patent challenges generally take from 2-3 years, the first Paragraph IV applicant (if successful in the lawsuit) will receive 180 days during which no other generic producing company may enter the market.  This is a huge incentive to generic drug manufacturers to file Paragraph IV ANDAs.  Providing the first ANDA filer with a 6-month period of exclusivity allows it to reap large dividends by pricing the generic drug just below the brand-name drug.

The authors of the SCIENCE article start by reviewing the economic incentives for generic drug challenges to innovator drug patents.  The biggest factor is the 180-day exclusivity period awarded to the generic challenger that is the first to file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA).  The authors estimate that the average revenue garnered by a generic during this period is $60 million, which is 12 times the average cost of ANDA litigation ($5 million).  This differential exists because during that 6-month period the first successful generic challenger can price the generic substitute just below the brand-name drug price (representing a “savings” to consumers).  This potential windfall has motivated generic companies to engage in “prospecting” by filing numerous ANDAs with Paragraph IV certifications (that the patent protecting the innovator’s drug is invalid). 

Using Merck’s Fosamax® (for treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women) as an example, the Professors Higgins and Graham state that Teva’s successful Paragraph IV challenge permitted generic competition 4 years before Merck’s patents were to expire, costing the company about $1.5 billion.  (Teva is reported to have 160 pending ANDA filings and to be involved in 92 Paragraph IV challenges, “putting at risk over $100 billion in sales,” citing Teva’s Securities and Exchange Commission Form 20-F filing in 2007.)   This lost revenue represents the cost of bringing two new drugs to market in the U.S.

As a result, it seems that innovator pharmaceutical companies are motivated to produce new branded drug offerings that bolster their existing franchises subject to generic challenge.  However, Higgins and Graham conclude these are not “new” drugs, but rather are predominantly reformulations representing only “marginal improvements” over existing forms of these drugs.  The rate and number of successful Paragraph IV challenges is also reducing the average effective patent life for innovator drugs, particularly “blockbuster” drugs which remain the most attractive targets for Paragraph IV challenge (and the correspondingly higher value of the 180-day generic exclusivity term).

In response, Higgins and Graham have proposed extending the data exclusivity term under the Hatch-Waxman act from 5 years to 10 years.  The authors assert that extending the period of data exclusivity is necessary to overcome the “market failure” in the pharmaceutical industry caused by the Hatch-Waxman Paragraph IV challenges of patents on innovator drugs.  It seems though that the authors are not advocating the extension of data exclusivity for all drugs, they do push for longer exclusivity for “first-in-class” drugs and high-risk, high-necessity drugs, such as preventative medicine for Alzheimer’s disease and osteoarthritis.  The authors further acknowledge that there are vast policy issues at play here and that there would be a great deal of discussion, negotiation and legislation needed before any sort of changes can be made.   I do wholeheartedly agree with a statement by the authors that the “programs’ complexity and administrative burdens should not outweigh benefits.”

The Hatch-Waxman Act already provides a shorter 3-year period of exclusivity for a drug product that contains an active moiety that has been previously approved, when the application contains reports of new clinical investigations (other than bioavailability studies).  So perhaps there should be different tiers of exclusivity for those first-in-class drugs different from the follow-on formulations, different polymorphs, enantiomers, etc.  The SCIENCE article by Higgins and Graham certainly provided me an opportunity to ponder something I really hadn’t thought about before in the context of small molecule drugs.  With so many people suffering from cancer and other debilitating diseases, it is important that drug innovators have enough of an opportunity to recoup their R&D costs and continue their further work in developing new drugs.  Perhaps its time for some reassessment of the exclusivity provisions in the Hatch-Waxman Act.  Congress is presently deep in the debates over exclusivity with regard to biosimilars but something tells me this will not be the last we hear of Professors Higgins and Graham’s proposal.

The Value of Youth Involvement in Multiple Sports

There was an issue/debate recently in my area in connection with young athletes focusing exclusively on one sport.  I thought a great deal about it in connection with my lacrosse team and my players.  Below is a short article I drafted and uploaded to my team website for the parents and players to read. 

As a coach and parent I have heard a great deal recently about athletes focusing exclusively on one sport year-round rather than diversifying and playing multiple (or seasonal sports).  As a lacrosse coach, I want my players to have the best training possible so we can be the best team possible.  We must all realize, however, that our boys are still that – boys.  In a 2007 article entitled Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Child and Adolescent Athletes from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, it was noted that

Single-sport, year-round training and competition is becoming more common for children and adolescents. A focus on participating in 1 sport, or single-sport specialization, to improve, advance, and compete at the highest level may drive youth to participate for long hours daily on 1 or more teams at a time.

The motivation behind this over-involvement may be induced by the young athlete or parent or both.  Of course, there are legitimate reasons some kids play only one sport: lack of time, limited budgets, hectic schedules, etc.  But there is one reason I have a difficult time accepting as legitimate – coaches and/or parents who force kids to pick one sport.  As more young athletes are becoming professionals at a younger age, there seems to be more pressure to grab a piece of the “professional pie,” “to obtain a college scholarship, or to make the Olympic team.”  Most young athletes and their parents fail to realize that, depending on the sport, only 0.2% to 0.5% of high school athletes ever make it to the professional level.  Yet, youth continue to specialize in one sport while participating on multiple teams and risk overuse and/or burnout if there is no break from athletics during the year.  The nationally renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, has stated that “playing multiple sports gives our body the opportunity to use certain muscles while others are resting.  By forcing kids to pick one sport, the same muscles are used over and over without recovery time.”  Young athletes who participate in a variety of sports have fewer injuries and play sports longer than those who specialize before puberty.

The American Academy of Pediatrics further found (and it should be common sense to all of us) that “Well-rounded, multisport athletes have the highest potential to achieve the goal of lifelong fitness and enjoyment of physical activity while avoiding some of the pitfalls of overuse, overtraining, and burnout provided that they participate in moderation and are in tune with their bodies for signs of overuse or fatigue.”  There is no doubt in my mind that the skills our boys attain playing football, basketball, soccer, etc., transfer in large way to the lacrosse field (and vice versa).  In fact, as a lacrosse coach, I believe many of players obtain their toughness from football, hockey or wrestling.  They also obtain quickness and agility from basketball and soccer. 

Obviously our boys should be free to choose the sports they enjoy the most, but no player or parent should believe that to excel in a particular sport it is necessary to focus on that single sport year round to the detriment of other sports.  We are all aware of many athletes who have excelled in numerous sports: Jim Thorpe, Jim Brown, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Anthony Gonzalez.  Jackie Robinson was one of the greatest athletes of all time, yet many only know him as a baseball player. In college, Jackie starred in football, basketball, track and baseball.  It’s a good thing Jackie Robinson wasn’t forced to pick one sport at an early age.  Reportedly, baseball was his least favorite sport.

Many of our boys play multiple sports throughout the year either simultaneously or during different seasons.  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Multisport athletes are at risk of overuse injuries if they do not get sufficient rest between daily activities or if they do not get a break between seasons.”  At this point in our children’s’ lives, the ultimate goal of participation in sports should be to promote lifelong physical activity, recreation, and skills of healthy competition that can be used in all facets of future endeavors. 

To this end, it’s important that we (as coaches and parents) all make sure that at this point in time, the focus of sports participation should be on fun, skill acquisition, safety, and sportsmanship.  Keep an eye on your boys.  If they are stressed, complaining of nonspecific muscle or joint problems, experiencing fatigue, or experiencing poor academic performance, be alert for possible burnout.  I know no parent or coach wants who wants a young player to burnout or injure himself as a result of overwork.  We do not want to lose our young athletes because the sport ceases to be fun.  Well-balanced sports participation should be an important part of a child’s social, emotional, and physical well-being.  It should also go without saying that consistent with my philosophy as described above; no member of my spring lacrosse team should feel compelled to play on any off-season lacrosse team in lieu of other sports they wish to play.

I am a member of and adherent to the philosophy of The Positive Coaching Alliance.  The Positive Coaching Alliance advocates a double goal for coaches: to win and, even more importantly, to use sports to teach life lessons through Positive Coaching.  If any parent would like to further discuss this issue with me, I invite them to contact me.

- Coach B

Playing Lax Again After 20 Year Absence (and NY Titans moving to Orlando?!)

It’s been 20 years since I graduated college and played my last varsity lacrosse game.  Since then I’ve been a huge fan of the outdoor and indoor game.  I’ve also now been coaching youth lacrosse for 4 successful years.  About a month ago I finally went out and purchased new protective equipment to go out and play “Old Dog” lacrosse with a bunch of 35 and over guys every Tuesday night.  It’s been awesome.  I regret not having gotten back into it sooner.

I already owned my own (relatively cheap) defense stick, but I had to go out and purchase a brand new helmet and gloves.  What a difference the equipment is from when I was in college.  Back in the late 80s I wore a bucket-type Bacharach-Raisin helmet and these huge Brine gloves.  I know the equipment is expensive these days because I’ve invested a ton in buying my 10 year old son all his new equipment.  I tried a Cascade helmet and didn’t like the fit so I went for a Brine Triumph which is much more comfortable for me and which has a knob in the back to adjust the fit.  The helmet cost me $180.  I shopped around for a pair of Brine Defts but could not locate them in size 13 in any of my local shops.  I found them on EBay but I needed them immediately so I ended up with a really nice pair of Warrior ShowStoppers which were a limited edition model from Lacrosse Unlimited.  I had planned to play without shoulder pads but a teammate/friend guilted me into buying them telling me I was no longer a kid and needed as much protection as possible.  I went with Brine LoPro which are pretty bare bone shoulder pads with no upper arm protection.  I don’t wear elbow pads.  Never did.

 My first week out was an eye-opener.  I’m not in the best of physical shape but I do work out a few times a week and do cardio and weight lifting.  I played OK but it was really fun even when I got beat a few times. We play for 2 hours and sort of police ourselves on the field.  Most of the guys are former high school and big time college players but all the guys were a good bunch no matter where they were from.  My second week was much better.  I was quicker and more physical.  Last week was another up and down week.  I threw some good checks and caught some clears but also made a bad pass back to the goalie moving the ball up the field and it was intercepted by a quick Middie who took it in for an easy goal.  Unforgivable mistake but its all in good fun.  I also took a full speed shot by an Attackman to my left pectoral just below where the shoulder pad covers.  I am now sporting a huge pink and purple welt there.  Sure it hurts but I do whatever it takes to stop the shot. 

After the games I am drenched with sweat (and most likely have dropped a few pounds).  We then all head to a local bar and drink a few beers before heading home well after midnight.  As I said, I regret waiting 20 years to start playing again.  We have 3 more weeks in the summer league and I hope we can continue playing again in the Fall.

On a disappointing note, I read yesterday that the NY Titans indoor (NLL) lacrosse team was strongly contemplating a move to Orlando, Florida.  What a shock.  My son and I and my youth lacrosse players have enjoyed numerous Titans games the last few years at Madison Sq. Garden and at the Rock in Newark, NJ.  It’s bad enough that NJ lost the Pride (MLL) this year.  Now we are going to lose the Titans?!  NJ is supposedly the fastest growing hotbed of youth lacrosse in the U.S.  I can’t believe that it’s so difficult financially for a lacrosse team to survive here.  I realize its expensive to survive in the NYC metro area but where are all the thousands of players in the area?  Pro lax is so entertaining!  What a disappointment for all the NYC/NJ lacrosse fans now to lose both the Pride and the Titans (as well as the Philadelphia Barrage).  Sure the Long Island Lizards are still around but that’s a bit of a drive for many of us in NJ.  Hopefully the future will bring another pro lax team to the NYC/NJ area.

A highly successful lax season comes to an end.

Its been quite a while since I blogged.  The lacrosse season had me totally bogged down.  As head coach I was responsible for a team of 44 third and fourth graders, 6 assistant coaches and the players’ parents.  We held 3 practices a week until the games started and then we had some weeks where we played 4 games inside 7 days.  The boys loved it though. 

Coaching lax is a wonderful experience for me.  It sort of provided me with an “outlet”.  I love the sport and I love teaching it to kids.  As the head coach it was essential to keep all the parents fully informed of practice and game times, locations, etc.  We had some banging games.  The boys loved the contact aspect of the sport and we put up a lot of goals.  We ended the season with a record of 14-3-1, not including our second place finish in the Lightning Lacrosse Thunderbolt Tournament the first weekend in May and not including the 3-0 record that the 3rd grade boys played in 3rd grade only games. 

We had a fantastic team party the other night.  All the players were invited with their parents and siblings.  Altogether we had 155 people.  We ordered 30 pizza pies and everyone contributed snacks, drinks, desserts.  It was great.  The boys received trophies and new t-shirts.  I look forward to next year!  My son will attend a lax camp in July and we are thinking of entering our 4th grade players into a league in the Fall.  Now I also have to get my son ready for the football season. 

For anyone contemplating coaching your kid’s team (in any sport), I highly recommend it as a truly rewarding experience.

Our Lax Season Begins….

 I am now about 6 weeks into my team’s lacrosse season.  We have played 4 games and are a very proud 3-1.  It’s a testament to my players, many of whom never picked up a stick prior to March 1 when we started our practices.

 

I started out with a combined roster of 44 boys – 22 third graders and 22 fourth graders.  75% of these boys never picked up a lacrosse stick before.  We started out by spending most of the first three weeks of practice on nothing but basics/fundamentals (cradling, scooping, catching and throwing).  My coaches and I tried hard to change the drills around a great deal so that the boys did not become bored.  We practiced in warm weather, cold weather and in the rain.  Not one boy complained or quit.

 

As we approached our first game, I had a great deal of work to do since I could not dress 44 players for every game.  The goal is to give all the boys adequate playing time in every game.  I also had dual roles of providing the 4^th grade boys (about 1/3 of who had previously played lax) with an opportunity to play at a competitive level so I prepare them for moving up next year.  On the flip side, I had to make sure to continue to teach the 3^rd graders and first-time players.  What was eventually decided collaboratively by me and our League Commissioner was that all 4^th grade players would dress and attend every game on our schedule.  The 3^rd grade players were split into two squads: BLUE and GOLD (our team colors).  In this manner, the BLUE and GOLD squads alternated dressing for each game.  I expected some clamoring from parents but got none.  Apparently all the parents thought it was a fair way of proceeding.  Many parents of the new players were actually happy since it gave their boys opportunities NOT to be overwhelmed.

 

Our schedule includes 18 games against teams from our neighboring towns.  As I noted, all the 4^th graders would dress for all 18 games and each 3^rd grade squad would dress for 9 games.  To even things out even more, we added four BLUE/GOLD games exclusively for the 3^rd grade players.  This gave every 3^rd grade player 12 games.  Right before I went to publish this, I learned that the League now scheduled two more games for my team against another town and these games will be exclusively for the 3^rd grade boys now bringing the total games for the 3^rd grade players to 14 games. 

 

Our first game was against a local lacrosse powerhouse.  We lost 7-4 but scoring 4 goals on this team was an achievement and it gave many of the boys their first game of competitive lacrosse.  We all learned a lot from the loss.  Our second game was the very next day against another team we play every year.  This game was played in pouring non-stop rain.  We prevailed 9-0.  Although I told all my players on Day 1 that all players would have an opportunity to play all positions, the one position no player would be forced to play was goalie.  We had some volunteers and we tried them all out.  It’s really easy to see who has potential and who just isn’t a goalie (at least at this point in time).  We are fortunate that one of our returning players (a 3^rd grader actually!) played goalie last year and has improved further this year.  He started both of these first 2 games and was magnificent in both.

 

Our third game of the season was played last Sunday on a beautiful sunny afternoon.  It was an away game and it turned out to be a game unlike any I’ve ever attended, coached, played, witnessed….  There really is no need to retell the events that transpired except to say that actions by the head coach of the other team was the most egregious display of unsportsman-like conduct I have ever seen.  Though the game was almost over when the second of two incidents transpired, the referees forfeited the game in our favor (score was 6-1).  This game provided many many lessons for me to communicate to my players about human nature and sportsmanship.

 

Our fourth game this past weekend was another close one with my team winning 4-2.  This win came with a depleted roster as a result of many boys away on their spring vacations.  With each and every game the boys are getting better and better.  It’s clear for all to see that their confidence levels are increasing and they are “seeing” the field and beginning to understand the concept of “creating space”. 

 

The upcoming weekend brings us to our first BLUE/GOLD all 3^rd grade game on Saturday and a full squad game on Sunday.  More to come….

Take the “F” out of FDA?!

More and more, it seems to be the prevailing opinion amongst many in the pharmaceutical industry that splitting the FDA in two branches (FOODS and DRUGS) will speed up drug approvals.  The rash of recent food-safety scandals (peanut butter, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) has taken a substantial toll on the FDA.  Combine that with being spooked by high profile drug recalls over the last few years (e.g., Vioxx, Meridia, Baycol), it’s easy to think that the FDA is extremely gun-shy about making any quick drug approval decisions. 

 

By separating the food and drug branches, one would think that the distraction of high profile food safety issues would be eliminated and would thus afford the ability of the DRUG branch to speed up drug approvals that have lagged amid a drought of new products. 

 

While President Obama has not expressed an opinion on any breakup of the FDA, such a plan could be in the works in view of his recent appointments of two public health specialists to the FDA’s top positions.  The appointment of Dr. Margaret Hamburg, a former NYC Health Commissioner, might place her into the role of running the FOOD branch, while the other appointee, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the current health commissioner of Baltimore, could serve as the head of the DRUG branch.

 

According to the Associated Press, even pharmaceutical executives are keen to the idea of dividing the branches.  However, such agreement amongst the pharma executives is kept on the down-low and off the record for fear of offending the powers-that-be at the FDA.

 

We are at a critical point these days with legislation pending in connection with authorized generic drugs and generic biologics.  President Obama has now communicated his plans to loosen the limits on federal funding for stem cell research and thus brightened the future of drug development in that area.  The FDA (in whatever shape or form it eventually takes) will need to play a significant role in the approvals of new stem cell therapeutics, and generic biologics should the pending legislation pass to law.  Additionally, there remains a substantial backlog of potentially life-saving or life-altering drugs that the FDA simply can’t evaluate at this point in time as a result of the manpower and financial deficiency.  This backlog and the resulting delay affect innumerous lives. 

 

Of course there are a tremendous number of issues and intangibles that must be dealt with in order to effect a division of FOOD from DRUGS, but since the FDA plays a major role in the health and safety of our food and drugs, allowing our food experts and our drug experts to focus independently on their areas of expertise would go a long way to benefitting us all in the future.

Lacrosse Inventions

 

Last night, in of all places, GolfStyles Magazine, I was reading about the huge number of golf-related patent applications pending at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.  As anyone who plays golf knows, golfers will spend any sum of money for an “improved” club or a gadget that may help them drive a yard farther, put a bit straighter, etc. 

 

In my professional life I know there are thousands of biotech/pharma patent applications all professing to advance earlier compounds, treatments, methods, etc.  This got me wondering what lacrosse-related goodies are pending at the U.S. Patent Office. 

 

My search of pending U.S. patent applications turned up over 150 pending applications reciting “lacrosse” in the application’s Abstract of the Invention.  One interesting invention was for a training tool that forces the use of the non-dominant hand position on the shaft.  According to the Abstract, the inventive tool attaches the player’s glove to the player’s stick in their non-dominant hand orientation, “allowing the player’s gloves to slide up and down on the stick, but preventing the player from switching the player’s hand orientation, in order to force the use of a non-preferred stick orientation which will strengthen the overall level of a player’s skill set.” (see U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080248899).

 

In a couple of pending applications Harrow Sports describes a unibody lacrosse stick in which the head and shaft comprise a single molded unified member.  According to the patent application such construction increases lacrosse throwing accuracy and power.  I can’t speak to that statement without first having tried the stick, but the better shafts these days have become extremely expensive and they typically last longer than the heads.  If the head breaks, all I need to do is screw a new one on to the shaft.   Another interesting application describes a stick that can be readily convertible for both offensive and defensive play.   The shaft appears to include a telescopic-type extendible shaft that can be changed from an extended length (i.e., defensive shaft) to a shortened length (i.e., offensive shaft).  While acknowledging the lacrosse rules on stick length, the application clarifies that the intent of the inventive stick is not merely a stick with adjustable lengths but rather a stick that is convertible between one fixed length and another fixed length.  While an interesting comment that would allow a middie to quickly change his stick into a defensive shaft based on changes during the course of the game, I’ll reserve comment on this one until the NCAA rules committee has its say.

 

I plan to continue to keep a look-out for new lacrosse-related inventions and will post them here as I find them.  Check back soon.   

A Fantastic Lax Coaching Clinic and Some Disappointing Lax News

This morning I attended the NJ Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association 2009 Lacrosse Coaches Clinic.  After a good hot breakfast, the slate of lectures featured Princeton University’s Bill Tierney, Towson’s Tony Seaman and Chuck Apel, the long-standing coach Bridgewater-Raritan H.S. (NJ) and the Under-19 USA men’s lax team. 

 

Coach Tierney started off the day.  I’ve always considered Coach Tierney to be a defensive genius and he did not disappoint.  His mantra was basically that when it comes to defense these days, what’s old is new and what’s new is old.  He took the roomful of coaches through an hour-long PowerPoint (with motion) presentation that touched upon all aspects of the defense including goalie play, sliding, recovering and individual and team play.  Next up was Coach Seaman who started off with some tips and humorous anecdotes.  He then opened up the floor for a full-blown hour-long Q&A complimented with his detailed drawings on a whiteboard.  Lastly was Coach Apel who focused on “Man Down Defense” – an important aspect of the game without a doubt but since my 3^rd/4^th grade youth team doesn’t serve penalties but rather subs in a new man, I only listened for a while and then went to speak with some of the lax company reps in the lobby.  All in all, a very informative morning of lax instruction.  After the lectures were finished, all the coaches were invited to watch the Princeton vs. Towson scrimmage at Princeton’s Class of ’52 Stadium. 

 

 

On a disappointing note, I’ve been reading about Major League Lacrosse shrinking the number of teams that will play this summer (2009).  According to Insidelacrosse.com,

 

[t]he league has not issued any official word on the 2009 season, but in talking to sources this week, it appears that six teams will comprise this summer’s slate: Denver, Chicago, Washington/Annapolis, Boston, Long Island and Toronto. If the Toronto group takes Rochester, that leaves players on the Barrage, New Jersey Pride, Los Angeles Riptide and San Francisco Dragons without teams.

 

What a loss for lax fans.  My son and I have been big fans of the NJ Pride and have attended many games over the last 2 summers.  We look forward to it once the youth season ends.  This whole scenario is a bit surprising to me since you can’t pick up a sports periodical these days without reading about the explosion in popularity of the sport of lacrosse.  Is it lack of fan interest?  Geography?  I have no doubt that many of the college graduates who played lax in college want to continue playing at the professional level.  There were obviously enough players to staff teams in the cities where the teams are being disbanded.  The NLL which plays indoors over the winter months is experiencing great success.  So what happens in the summer time?  I can only surmise that the lack of attendance at some MLL games over the summer results from many people away on vacation and kids away at camps. 

 

If things continue as Inside Lacrosse reports, the league will retain its presence on the east coast with teams in Long Island, Boston, and Washington.  Teams in Chicago and Denver will cater to the growth of the game in the mid-west, and Toronto will serve as the Canadian representative in the league.  The real loss is on the west coast which has been trying so very hard to increase the visibility of the sport.  The disbanding of the Riptide and the Dragons will not only leave a number of current players without teams but will also create a void for many of these players who might still wish to play but who, because of their main employment and residences might not be able to relocate to another team in another part of the country. 

 

I know economics play a role in the league’s decision to dissolve the aforementioned teams but I truly hope a “White Knight” can ride in or logistical changes can be made so that the teams can continue to exist and continue provide the high level of lacrosse we love. 

First Successful Bio/Pharma IPO in…. I can’t remember how long!?

Bristol-Myers Squibb raised $720 million–20 percent more than its revised expectation of $600 million–in an initial public offering of 30 million shares of its Mead Johnson Nutritionals unit. (the maker of Enfamil® infant formula)  The Mead Johnson IPO was the first healthcare IPO in the U.S. since 2007!  The successful IPO was cheered on Wall Street, which has seen few companies go public of late.

 

Does the success of the Mead Johnson IPO signal the beginning of a return to rampant IPO filings?  Likely not.  As the blog In Vivo noted, Mead Johnson’s successful offering doesn’t necessarily indicate that the other IPOs on the docket will fare as well.  The volume of initial public offerings has been at the lowest level in decades because of choppy markets and investors who avoid buying stock in untested companies.  But BMS is far from an untested company and Mead Johnson has been a successful subsidiary for many years.  

 

It sure would be nice to see some new IPO filings from some promising biopharma companies but I believe we will need to wait out this recession and see a serious uptick in the market before there are additional healthcare company IPOs.