October 2007 Archive
Last week I joined the ranks of confused parents wondering how to treat my child’s cold without resorting to the tried and true cold medicines. While my job at Hoover’s had already given me insight on the voluntary product withdrawal conducted earlier this month on selected pediatric medicines, I nevertheless struggled with my already overly cautious “mommy alert” about what medicines, if any, are safe for my kids.
General confusion caused by the withdrawal has yet to be cleared up. The FDA actions that led to this product recall and the pharmaceutical industry’s responses could have been been clearer, in my opinion. Here’s the low-down on what’s happened thus far:
- In response to a citizen petition submitted earlier this year, the FDA put out a public health alert August 15 announcing that an advisory panel would meet in October to discuss the safety and effectiveness of children’s cough and cold medicines. The alert cited cases of over-medication and outlined recommendations for parents that can be summed up as: use age-appropriate medicines, read the labels, and consult your physician.
- In late September the FDA released expert reviews of certain medicines (those containing decongestants for children under 2 and antihistamines for children under 6) recommending that these products no longer be sold and that dosing cups and syringes be standardized.
- Industry trade group Consumer Healthcare Products Association simultaneously recommended that the wording “consult a doctor” be replaced with warning labels stating that the products should not be used for children under 2.
- In October pharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Wyeth, and Prestige Brands caved under public pressure and issued a voluntary withdrawal of selected pediatric multi-symptom medicines, primarily the “infant” variety aimed at children under 2.
- The advisory panel that met October 18-19 voted (21 to 1) for a ban on cold products for children under 2, voted (13 to 9) for a ban on multisymptom cough meds for children under 6, and unanimously recommended standardized dosing devices.
While the FDA is apparently in no hurry to make a final decision on the advisory committee’s recommendations, it is my sincere hope that the pharmaceutical companies will step up and make further efforts to fix these problems. As a parent, I wholeheartedly support an industry-wide consensus on confusing dosing implements. Redesigned labels with fewer happy baby pictures and stronger language, as well as company-funded studies on what medicines really do help sick kids, are steps that manufacturers should take now.
The use of pediatric cold medicines is based on the decades-old assumption that medicines work on children in the same way that they do on adults — an assumption that has been proven incorrect in many studies. Many experts maintain that cold medicines don’t even work on children. While I am skeptical about this conclusion, I do agree that drugs for children need to be proven safe FOR CHILDREN before they are put on the market.
“I saw miles and miles of Texas” croons Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel. And what fills the big empty space of the second-largest state? Wind, that’s what.
And wind does not just blow tumbleweeds across Hank Williams‘ lost and lonesome highways. In an energy market hungry for alternative and clean sources of power generation, wind power in Texas is an emerging play that has attracted the attention of investors, including several traditional power producers.
For the past couple of years Texas has been the country’s leading wind energy producer. The state has more than 3,300 megawatts (MW) installed and about 1,246 MW under construction. In July 2007, the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved additional transmission lines enabling a further 25,000 MW of wind energy to be developed in remote rural areas to serve the state’s cities by 2012.
The American Wind Energy Association calculates that about two-thirds of the predicted growth of wind energy generation in the
And if Texas’ vast land resources aren’t enough, the state can take advantage of a deal made when Texas joined the Union in 1845. While most other states have territorial waters that extend out three miles from their coastlines, Texas’ extend out 10 miles. Not only are average wind speeds at sea higher than on land, when located 10 miles out to sea the wind farms promise to be less visually intrusive than those being built closer to coasts in other states. In 2006 Texas positioned itself to launch the first
Some innovative companies are even trying to graft the new industry on the remains of the old oil industry infrastructure by building turbines on the foundations of the several thousand old platforms/defunct oil rigs that dot the Gulf of Mexico.
Wind power is not without its critics. Some local residents of wind farms object for aesthetic reasons. Some environmentalists believe that the wind plant turbines kill birds in unacceptable numbers. American Wind Energy Association dismisses the latter argument as unfounded.
So the next time a Blue Norther whips through Texas, just remember, It is an ill wind that blows no one any good. And while that cold blast may be chilling you, it also is cranking out megawatts and profits for power companies and supplying clean power to Texans.
The scariest thing about this Halloween may be how much we’ll spend celebrating. The average American will fork out nearly $65 this year on Halloween accoutrements, such as candy, costumes (including pet costumes), cards, and decorations. That’s up from $44.20 in 2001; an impressive 46% increase in just five years. So if you’ve got the nagging suspicion that Halloween is becoming a bigger deal, it is! Collectively we’ll spend more than $5 billion to say Boo! in 2007, estimates the National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.
Families with kids, a yard to spookify, and pounds of candy to distribute are looking at a tab of several hundred dollars. The beneficiaries of the Halloween buying frenzy are, of course, retailers, including party goods chains, mass merchants like Wal-Mart and Target, supermarkets, chain drugstores, crafts shops, and thrift and dollar stores such as Good Will and Savers, which deal in second-hand clothing. Indeed, it’s hard to think of a retailer that doesn’t get a boost from Halloween sales. Pizza delivery and video rental chains do brisk business too, I’ll bet.
With about $1.4 billion budgeted for decorations this year, Halloween ranks as the second-largest decorating holiday behind Christmas/Hanukkah. For party chains, including market leader Party City and rival Party America, October 31st has eclipsed December 25th as the busiest time of the year. To capitalize on the Halloween spending spree some have taken to opening temporary stores just for the occasion. Internet retailers are feeling the love as well. Online costumer seller Buyseasons gets about 75% of its revenue in September and October due to the Halloween holiday.
One thing that hasn’t changed much is the costumes kids love most. The top picks this year include princesses, Spider-Man, and pirates, two of which I can recall dressing up as in the 1960s. Witches and fairies round out the top five.
Speaking of costumes, I’ve got to wrap this up because I’m off to the temporary Halloween superstore in search of a black pointy hat!
When I was cutting my teeth as a cub reporter with Electronic News 25 years ago, one of the companies they set me loose on was Tektronix, the big instrument manufacturer in suburban Portland, Oregon.
It was with some nostalgia that I saw the news that Tektronix — or Tek, as most people in the industry know it — is being acquired by Danaher, which similarly swallowed up Fluke nine years ago. Danaher is best known for manufacturing the Craftsman tools sold by Sears.
Tek isn’t well known as a corporation, but it enormously helped put the Portland area on the map for the high-tech industry, as its former employees started dozens of companies and Intel moved into the neighborhood in a big way.
While churning out oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other instruments for engineers around the world, Tek developed ground-breaking technology. On the same day the news of the $2.85B Danaher acquisition broke, Tek announced that it would receive its seventh Emmy, for its contributions to MPEG-2 video technology. To my knowledge, the only company with more technical Emmy awards is Ampex, with 12.
Tektronix has had its stumbles, of course. The company struggled mightily in the 1980s to enter the computer-aided engineering software market, acquiring a firm, CAE Systems, for $75M. The product line flopped and two years later Tek sold it to Mentor Graphics — a company started by former Tek managers and engineers — for a fire-sale price of $5M. Tek had to deal with pressure from big shareholder George Soros in 1992 to break up the company (he didn’t get his way and cashed out) and then did break itself up in 2000, selling its printing and imaging product lines to Xerox to focus on the test and measurement business. In terms of sales, Tek is smaller than it was 20 years ago. It employed 24,000 in 1981; today, it employs about 4,500.
Danaher will likely keep Tek as a stand-alone entity, as it did with Fluke, but ownership from afar will doubtless change things at the Tektronix campus.
What a difference three months can make. Netflix left investors grinning this week when it announced better than expected results for the third quarter, following a dismal second quarter.
Here’s the good news: Nearly 300,000 new subscribers, boosting the company’s total subscriber base to 7.03 million. Revenue jumped 15% over the third quarter of 2006 to $294 million, up from $255 million, and profits were up 23% over 2006’s third quarter to $15.7 million.
As a result, the company has raised its fourth-quarter guidance, anticipating sales of between $297 and $302 million instead of the previously announced $277 to $287 million. It plans to attract up to 7.5 million subscribers by year’s end, instead of 7.3 million.
The news sent stock prices up accordingly, more than 10%. Netflix started Thursday at $25.25 a share. (A buzz is also building about Netflix CEO’s Reed Hastings’ comments about possibly distributing movies via Internet-connected game devices such as the Xbox or Playstation.)
Netflix rebounded from its second quarter results, when it reported that it lost subscribers — some 55,000 — for the first time in its history. (I discussed the situation in a post back in July.) To blame, arch-nemesis Blockbuster’s Total Access program that was attracting customers with its low price and flexibility allowing renters to get movies in the mail or in stores.
Blockbuster, which had been losing money on the popular plan, decided to raise the price on Total Access and added some restrictions to the plan. Netflix, meanwhile, cut prices on its most popular plans in recent months while reducing its overall marketing spend.
Another change in the movie rental landscape: Movie Gallery, owner of 4,600 video stores under the Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery names, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. As a cost-cutting measure, it plans to close more than 500 of its stores.
Blockbuster’s stock dropped this week after a JPMorgan analyst downgraded the stock, suggesting that it should concentrate on its long-term growth. But Netflix is not off the hook, even with its positive results. Analysts continue to express concern about the company’s long-term digital strategy and continued fight with Blockbuster. Blockbuster will announce its third quarter results on Nov. 1st, so we’ll have to wait to see which strategy prevails.