'Rings' Fans Line Up for Marathon Screening. As early as 5:30 this morning diehard “Lord of the Rings” fans were on line at a Manhattan theater to see “Trilogy Tuesday.” By Stephanie Rosenbloom. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]
Month: December 2003
A Bookish Contretemps in Providence
A Bookish Contretemps in Providence. The Providence Athenaeum's proposal to sell a folio by John James Audubon from its collection is causing a battle between its patrons and officers. By Alison Leigh Cowan. [New York Times: Books]
Mining the intranet
Mining the intranet. Of course sites such as Amazon and Google have reasons to create formal APIs and gate access to them. But on an enterprise intranet the threat is disuse, not overuse. You're publishing information that you want people to find, exploit, and recombine. When it's appropriate to use SOAP and WSDL — for… Continue reading Mining the intranet
Rest in Peace
Rest in Peace. John W. Sidgmore, a Washington, DC-area technology pioneer and former WorldCom Inc. leader who helped uncover accounting fraud at that telecom giant, died last Thursday. After helping to build small UUNet Technologies Inc. into a $4 billion company in 1999 — and a major part of the Net's backbone — Sidgmore was tapped… Continue reading Rest in Peace
Making the most of your IT department
Making the most of your IT department. Got this link from Josh: Making the most of your IT department It's funny 'cause it's true… [Life of a one-man IT department]
eu problems and solutions
eu problems and solutions. Today's failure in Brussles is a perfect opportunity to point to Lousewies van der Laan's reccomendations for a stronger european parliment, that contains several easy to read, understand and implement solutions that will solve many of the EU's 'growing pains' and structural issues. I've met Lousewies twice and am very impressed… Continue reading eu problems and solutions
failure
failure. According to several official news sources, the european union's two day effort to finalize the european constitution has failed. By 2pm today most leader's private jets were reported to be warmed up and ready to fly back to their individual countries. Update: The BBC reports: European summit ends in failure The problem is, as… Continue reading failure
The vaccine oligopoly
This week, in the face of the most serious influenza scare for over a decade, the US has basically run out of flu vaccine. And part of the problem, according to the Wall Street Journal, is due to oligopoly.
In an article called “Lack of Vaccines Goes Beyond Flu Inoculations,” (12/8/2003), reporter Bernard Wysocki Jr. writes about “the malfunctioning of the small but vital marketplace for preventive vaccines in America.”
There are only two companies making injected flu vaccines in the US, the article points out, French Aventis SA, and Chiron Corp. There is a third company called MedImmune Inc. with a nasal spray vaccine. But it isn't just a one-time shortage or just about the flu, the article states. “This is the eighth major shortage of preventive vaccines in the U.S. since the beginning of 2000. Shortages of vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, chickenpox and measles have occurred since then. Flu vaccines have been in short supply for three of the past four years.”
The reason behind these problems is a steady oligopolization of the vaccine industry. From 1970, when there were 25 vaccine makers, there are now only five. Companies like Merck, Wyeth, and Pfizer have gotten out of the vaccine business. “With such a small number of producers, shortages can develop quickly as a result of manufacturing problems, poor management, or a bad guess on the expected demand.” In fact, flu is better off than diseases tetanus or chickenpox, which have a monopoly supplier in the US.
Part of the reason has to do with exposure to lawsuits for real or perceived vaccine-caused illness, a growing problem or delusion, depending on who you talk to. But the main problem, as the WSJ article makes clear, is price controls, on of the few areas in the US where there are government-mandated controls for pharmaceuticals.
For makers of all types of vaccines, the Institute of Medicine's report traced the decline in manufacturers' interest to the fact that the U.S. government — predominantly through the Vaccines for Children program run by the CDC — buys slightly more than 50% of the vaccines in the U.S., and keeps prices low.
One observer quoted in the article calls this an issue of monopsony power, where the government sets the prices. But I see it as a fight between oligopoly and monopsony, where the monopsony is working for the public good, offering free vaccines to poor children and protecting the public health from pandemics.
Pharma companies
In an article called “Lack of Vaccines Goes Beyond Flu Inoculations,” (12/8/2003), reporter Bernard Wysocki Jr. writes about “the malfunctioning of the small but vital marketplace for preventive vaccines in America.”
There are only two companies making injected flu vaccines in the US, the article points out, French Aventis SA, and Chiron Corp. There is a third company called MedImmune Inc. with a nasal spray vaccine. But it isn't just a one-time shortage or just about the flu, the article states. “This is the eighth major shortage of preventive vaccines in the U.S. since the beginning of 2000. Shortages of vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, chickenpox and measles have occurred since then. Flu vaccines have been in short supply for three of the past four years.”
The reason behind these problems is a steady oligopolization of the vaccine industry. From 1970, when there were 25 vaccine makers, there are now only five. Companies like Merck, Wyeth, and Pfizer have gotten out of the vaccine business. “With such a small number of producers, shortages can develop quickly as a result of manufacturing problems, poor management, or a bad guess on the expected demand.” In fact, flu is better off than diseases tetanus or chickenpox, which have a monopoly supplier in the US.
Part of the reason has to do with exposure to lawsuits for real or perceived vaccine-caused illness, a growing problem or delusion, depending on who you talk to. But the main problem, as the WSJ article makes clear, is price controls, on of the few areas in the US where there are government-mandated controls for pharmaceuticals.
For makers of all types of vaccines, the Institute of Medicine's report traced the decline in manufacturers' interest to the fact that the U.S. government — predominantly through the Vaccines for Children program run by the CDC — buys slightly more than 50% of the vaccines in the U.S., and keeps prices low.
Pharma companies
The vaccine oligopoly This week, in the face of the most serious influenza scare for over a decade, the US has basically run out of flu vaccine. And part of the problem, according to the Wall Street Journal, is due to oligopoly. In an article called “Lack of Vaccines Goes Beyond Flu Inoculations,” (12/8/2003), reporter… Continue reading
The vaccine oligopoly
This week, in the face of the most serious influenza scare for over a decade, the US has basically run out of flu vaccine. And part of the problem, according to the Wall Street Journal, is due to oligopoly.
In an article called “Lack of Vaccines Goes Beyond Flu Inoculations,” (12/8/2003), reporter Bernard Wysocki Jr. writes about “the malfunctioning of the small but vital marketplace for preventive vaccines in America.”
There are only two companies making injected flu vaccines in the US, the article points out, French Aventis SA, and Chiron Corp. There is a third company called MedImmune Inc. with a nasal spray vaccine. But it isn't just a one-time shortage or just about the flu, the article states. “This is the eighth major shortage of preventive vaccines in the U.S. since the beginning of 2000. Shortages of vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, chickenpox and measles have occurred since then. Flu vaccines have been in short supply for three of the past four years.”
The reason behind these problems is a steady oligopolization of the vaccine industry. From 1970, when there were 25 vaccine makers, there are now only five. Companies like Merck, Wyeth, and Pfizer have gotten out of the vaccine business. “With such a small number of producers, shortages can develop quickly as a result of manufacturing problems, poor management, or a bad guess on the expected demand.” In fact, flu is better off than diseases tetanus or chickenpox, which have a monopoly supplier in the US.
Part of the reason has to do with exposure to lawsuits for real or perceived vaccine-caused illness, a growing problem or delusion, depending on who you talk to. But the main problem, as the WSJ article makes clear, is price controls, on of the few areas in the US where there are government-mandated controls for pharmaceuticals.
For makers of all types of vaccines, the Institute of Medicine's report traced the decline in manufacturers' interest to the fact that the U.S. government — predominantly through the Vaccines for Children program run by the CDC — buys slightly more than 50% of the vaccines in the U.S., and keeps prices low.
One observer quoted in the article calls this an issue of monopsony power, where the government sets the prices. But I see it as a fight between oligopoly and monopsony, where the monopsony is working for the public good, offering free vaccines to poor children and protecting the public health from pandemics.
Don't Make Me Think
Don't Make Me Think. Can you describe how you use the Internet? What catches your eye, how you scan pages, and generally how you seek information? I know I can't. But it's almost spooky how the author of Don't Make Me Think perfectly describes my surfing mannerisms. This book should be required reading for anyone involved… Continue reading Don't Make Me Think
Magnetic Field Is Fading, but No Dire Effects Are Foreseen
Magnetic Field Is Fading, but No Dire Effects Are Foreseen. Geophysicists increasingly wonder whether the magnetic field has begun one of its occasional reversals that, over time, might lead to compasses pointing south instead of north. By Kenneth Chang. [New York Times: Technology]