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The recent dismissal of the SLAPP (Suit Against Public Participation) suit brought against me by Dawn Abrams and Donna Roberts was very welcome and much appreciated.  For more coverage of the case, please read this and this.

While the case seemingly was about a dispute between a disreputable group of dog breeders and a pet owner, the case had much more to do about the First Amendment and free speech.  Please read the amicus brief submitted to the court on my behalf by the Humane Society of the United States. SLAPP suits are becoming increasingly popular vehicles to intimidate and silence bloggers and others. 

The sad thing about the current American judicial system is that anyone can sue you--with or without a good reason.  I think that  it is time that legislation is passed that seriously punishes litigants and their lawyers who willfully and knowingly file SLAPP suits. The current penalties and sanctions are a joke.

Although I was able to defend myself against a frivolous lawsuit that had no merit, it DID silence me (and the rest of the blogosphere) and it cost me an enormous amount of money!  Unfortunately, the people who brought the suit against me continued to sell dogs to would-be pet owners while my hands were tied because of pending litigation.

I find it ironic that I had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to be able to exercise my right to free speech which is supposedly guaranteed--at no cost--to all Americans.  To that end, if you would like to help to defray my legal expenses please visit StopPuppyFraud  or our Crowdrise page and make a donation. 

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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In his book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price” Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Magazine, asserts that the cost of DNA sequencing falls 50% each year. To that end, in February, a company called Complete Genomics based in Mountain View, California, announced it will read entire human genomes at $5000 a shot, starting in June this year. This will cost less than one-tenth of what companies charge today for genome sequencing. 

If you believe Anderson, in five years sequencing a human genome will be under $100. Based on these calculations, the window of opportunity for companies that sequence genomic DNA to make a profit is closing rapidly. So, if you were considering getting into the DNA sequencing biz, the right time may be now—before it is no longer a profitable biz model.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Sequencing!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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News Day reported today that Wegmans Food Markets, a grocer with 72 locations in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland is giving away “free generic antibiotics” for customers (with a prescription). Wegmans joins a growing list of supermarkets pharmacies including Giant Food and Publix that are giving free generic antibiotics to its customers.

I first learned about the “free generic antibiotic give away offers” several weeks ago after reading a post on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Health Blog. I took the WSJ health blog to task for posting the story without editorial comment on the potentially dangerous practice of “hawking free antibiotics” to drive business at regional and nationwide grocery store pharmacies. Luckily, in today’s WSJ Health Blog post about the Wegmans program, the author (Sarah Rubenstein) did suggest that the practice may lead to unnecessary promotional  use of antibiotics.

As you all should know by now, we are in the midst of bacterial antibiotic-resistance epidemic. People are beginning to regularly die from bacterial infections that were easily treatable a decade ago. Ironically, we are slowly approaching the morbidity and mortality rates for bacterial infections that previously existed in the pre-penicillin era. Moreover, there are no new, orally bioavailable, broad spectrum antibiotics on the horizon. A lack of new antibiotics coupled with rapidly emerging resistance to extant ones is wreaking havoc on the healthcare system in both community and hospital settings.

The “free generic antibiotics” advertising and marketing programs concocted by Giant, Publix and Wegman’s are egregious examples of how a lack of or unwillingness to understand science poses a serious public health threat to all Americans. I have no doubt that the marketers who devised the give away programs have nary a clue about the relationship between antibiotic use and the emergence of antibiotic resistance strains of bacteria. Further, while physicians may be aware of increasing rates of antibiotic resistance, many are reluctant to not prescribe antibiotics to patients who request them. After all, these physicians are running a business and if they don’t write the script, the patient will take his/her business elsewhere. The potential public health implication of these free antibiotic programs begs the question: Why not give away generic ace inhibitors, generic statins or other generic medications whose profits margins are also negligible but don’t carry any public health risks?

Put simply, the promise of free generic antibiotics is a marketing strategy that is in my opinion, reckless, dangerous and may have serious public health implications in the future. Make no mistake about it, I am a capitalist but not when profits are placed before human lives.

Hat tip to the WSJ Health Blog

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try antibiotic drug discovery—we need new ones)

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