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Ed Silverman, author of the fabulous Pharmalot Blog, showed his investigative reporting bona fides by revealing today that there may be a direct link between pharma manufacturing facilities, US national security and the brouhaha over WikiLeaks.

Ed uncovered a cable dated Feb. 18, 2009 from the US Secretary of State to all overseas diplomats that stated pharma facilities are vital to US national security and that “losing these facilities could critically impact the public health, economic security, and/or national and homeland security of the United States.”

The cable stressed that these facilities produce insulin, a variety of vaccines that protect against potentially devastating infectious agents and other medications and a vital part of the US National Infrastructure Protection Program. According to Ed’s post, the facilities mentioned in the cable are located all over the world and included companies such as Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi-Aventis, Genzyme, Novartis, IDT Biologika, Vetter Pharma, Roche, CSL Behring and Grifols. Interestingly, only two of the companies mentioned, Baxter and Genzyme, are US-owned companies. Go figure!!!!!!!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Be Alert (you never know who may be watching)

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 On the surface, you wouldn’t think that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV, the causative agent of venereal warts and cervical cancer) and US Homeland Security have much in common. However, they have more in common than you think as reported in yesterday's Pharmalot blog.

According to a report by the TheStreet.com , Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the first government agency to mandate that all female immigrants’ ages 11 to 26 years old be vaccinated against HPV. Because Gardasil is the only cervical cancer (HPV) vaccine that is approved for use in the US it will the vaccine used for the mandatory immunizations. Surprisingly, there is no HPV vaccination requirement for US visa holders or American citizens.

Since the policy was begun, an estimated 233,000 females aged 11 to 26 who entered the US as prospective citizens paid a combined $52 million or so for the vaccinations according to the Street.com article. Curiously, the USCIS is requiring only a single injection for females who receive the vaccine—the Gardasil label indicates that three injections are required for full anti-HPV effectiveness.

As you may recall, more than 20 states rejected plans backed by Merck to make Gardasil vaccination mandatory. Merck abandoned its campaign after parents and medical experts expressed concern about safety and effectiveness. While Gardasil vaccination is optional for American citizens, there is apparently no opt-out provision for females who simply want to immigrate to the US. The confusion may like lie in a document issued by the US State Department called form DS-3025, or “vaccination documentation worksheet which says vaccination against “Human Papillomavirus is required for US immigrant visa applicants.” Here is the form.

John Abramson, the former chairman of the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices when the HPV requirement began in April 2007, and an opponent of mandatory vaccination said “This is not a disease that is communicable like SARS or pandemic flu or even measles.” “I am stunned. It was not the intention of the policy to mandate vaccination of immigrants,”

Ironically, Merck which has been pushing as hard as it can to promote Gardasil use isn’t aware of the Homeland Security policy, according to a Merck spokeswoman. It just goes to show how effective unregulated pharmaceutical lobbying can be!!!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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As a self-anointed career development professional, I frequently read blogs and online articles dealing with jobs and career development advice. That said,  I happened upon a piece in Yahoo Education entitled “Risky Business: Finding Job Security in Tough Times”. The article featured careers that may provide greater than average job security to employees. Everything was going great until I read the no. 4 career on the list–Medical Scientist– I kid you not. This is what the author had to say about medical/life scientists:

 “With increases in funding for treating cancer, AIDS, mental illness, and other diseases, corporate pharmaceutical, biotech, and university research labs need more people to develop vaccines and treatment drugs. Depending on your medical specialty, you'll typically need a master's degree or PhD. Often M.D.-holders choose research work over medical practice. You can begin traveling this path by earning a bachelor's degree in a biological science, and focusing on chemistry, biology, statistics, and research methods. Salaries in private sector biotech firms are typically higher than those offered at the college research level. There are also jobs with government medical-research agencies. Median salary range: $44,830 to $88,130.”

I ‘m not sure where the author has been or what she has been smoking but it seems to me that she is not in sync with industry trends. Maybe I ought to write to her and ask her to send me a list of companies that are currently hiring. I guess you really can’t believe everything that you read!

Until next time….

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

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