Jacky Law

Pfizer is no normal company. As recently as 2007 it was still the industry's largest player with $47.5 billion (36.8 billion euro) coming in from pharma sales alone.

A new year, all things being equal, is a time of looking to the future with positive intent and traditional bonhomie. At the very least, it suggests new beginnings. As we enter 2009, however, the world is moving into a major recession and things are far from equal.

...the new administration is not anti-science or even anti-industry. It just wants lower prices.

I confess I am no financial expert. My knowledge about the current credit crisis can be summed up in six words: 'debt is bad; cash is good', which was pretty much the limit of my understanding about money before it all began.

The most public argument against direct-to-consumer advertising in Europe is essentially paternalistic: to protect people from companies who are considered unable to present an objective account of their drugs.

Pharmaceuticals used to be such a simple business when everyone knew their place.