5 tips from Tim Finchem for managing well

As part of its "Boss Talk" interview series, the Wall Street Journal asked PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem for his advice on managing.

1. Do it now.
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
3. Seek consensus, but recognize when to sacrifice unanimity for decisiveness.
4. Remember that, as a leader of a team, you are also a member of that team.
5. Take what you do seriously, but not yourself.

3-point approach to getting superior results faster

This book review of Strategic Acceleration: Succeed at the Speed of Life by Tony Jeary was submitted by our account executive Chris Bodmann.

Jeary’s new book is right up our alley here at Stinson Brand Innovation. With a fast-forward symbol as our logo and a mission to accelerate the adoption of new medical technologies, the idea of getting superior results faster is exactly what we do every day.

In Strategic Acceleration, Jeary follows a three-point approach:

1. Clarity: Understanding your targets clearly and the “why” behind reaching them (personally and professionally)
2. Focus: Concentrating on what really matters, and filtering out what doesn’t
3. Execution: Using effective communication (persuasion) to get things accomplished

Speed is certainly the key to success in the modern world, and Jeary’s new book helps drive that point home.


Read more book reviews and other news about our company in the latest issue of Accelerate.

Brand Drivers that lead to more Car Drivers

Blog submitted by Jairaj Mashru, one of our brand engagement managers.

So by now, most of us have known of the latest innovation from India that is expected to revolutionize the collapsing global automobile industry – yes, I am talking about The People's Car, the new nano by TATA Motors. The nano has been featured in a variety of news, media and publications, particularly for its price-to-features ratio. While low on price, the car is high on mileage, safety and basic comfort. It comes with no frills or thrills, other than the thrill of owning your first car…. because it is affordable.


I've been wondering if there were any other factors that would accelerate the demand for the nano other than its low cost. So I decided to look at the brand through lens of Stinson Brand Innovation's proprietary framework called Forward.Fast^®. Here's what I found:

Likeability: The brand name is very likeable and connects to the small size of the car. “Nano” is one of the current buzzwords in the world of technology. Apple set the stage up extremely well, having experienced huge success with its mp3 player of the same name, so consumers worldwide are aware of the name and like it. ‘The People’s Car’ tagline is simple, obvious, and yet unique – a sure hit with the public even before the car hits the roads.

Logo: The logo for TATA Motors and the nano is the same as the parent company, the TATA Group. It shares the heritage of the TATA Group, which was founded in 1868 and TATA Motors which was started 1945. The logo is a “T” in an oval ring designed as a metallic wireframe to allow the color of the car to fill up the logo. The style and font type of the brand name are a direct extension of the look and design of the car.

Quality Offering: TATA is a reputed brand with over 140 years of experience in serving customers in India and around the world from Steel to Retail to IT and Automobiles and more. Even TATA Motors has served India well with their long lasting trucks and the first indigenous car completely designed and built in India. There is little doubt that the nano will fail to meet these standards of quality.

Association: The nano car offers natural association to the life of farmers and low income families in the cities while the nano brand is closely linked to the TATA family of brands, some of which are positioned for the elite in India. Nano branded merchandise is designed to appeal to the masses as hip and trendy, offering to bridge the gap between the rich and poor in many ways.

Attitude: Clearly everyone in India is excited about the TATA nano. It is the world’s cheapest car and TATA plans to serve any and all world markets where the nano can make a difference. There is a high sense of pride among Indians in giving the world something it never had before. nano is the product of a strong spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in India.

Quality Experience: Typically, TATA Motors used their own dealerships and other private dealerships to sell their vehicles. This time, expecting greater demand, TATA will make the nano available at all of their retail outlets – Westside (fashion) and Croma (Electronics). The experience is expected to help the new nano owners raise the social status by owning their first car. The celebration typically includes sweets and garlands for the owner, a picture of Lord Ganesha to keep inside the car and smashing a coconut under the driver side wheel as the car rolls out of the parking lot to protect the car.

A quick analysis of each of the six brand attributes of the Forward.Fast^® framework reveals the revolutionizing power of the nano. TATA and India have once again proven that launching a new product under the worst circumstances, such as the current global economic slowdown and a dismantling automobile industry can be a success by focusing on the brand strategy.

Berinert approved by FDA to treat abdominal attacks, facial swelling associated with hereditary angioedema

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Berinert, the first treatment for acute abdominal attacks and facial swelling associated with a rare and potentially life-threatening genetic disease called hereditary angioedema (HAE).

Berinert is approved for adults and adolescents with HAE, which can occur spontaneously or during stress, surgery, or infection in patients diagnosed with HAE. The symptoms during abdominal attacks include severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea.

“Berinert will enhance the treatment options for individuals who experience acute abdominal attacks and facial swelling associated with hereditary angioedema,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., acting director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Berinert is a protein product derived from human plasma. It regulates clotting and inflammatory reactions that, when impaired, can lead to local tissue swelling. In a clinical trial of 124 adults and adolescents with C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency, Berinert was shown to be effective at treating the symptoms of acute moderate to severe abdominal attacks and facial swelling in patients with HAE.

Berinert is contraindicated in patients with a history of life-threatening hypersensitivity reaction to C1 esterase inhibitor preparations. The most serious adverse reaction reported in clinical studies was an increase in the severity of pain associated with HAE. The most common adverse reactions include subsequent HAE attack, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, muscle spasms, pain, diarrhea and vomiting.

Berinert is manufactured by CSL Behring, Inc.

2 healthcare organizations integrate decision-focused health content and technology – helping people make better health decisions over the telephone

Healthcare technology vendor Clinical Solutions and nonprofit health content provider Healthwise will together help call center clinicians give patients the health information they need when they need it.

In an agreement announced this week, the integration of Healthwise^® Connect with Clinical Solutions’ IntefleCS™ Telephone Triage will give health care organizations seamless access to medically-reviewed and evidence-based health information -- thereby promoting shared decision-making. In addition, specific details, including health topics as well as patient responses and critical outcomes, will be automatically transferred from Healthwise Connect to the Clinical Solutions system and charted on the patient’s record.

“People demand services that match their lifestyle. And through telephone triage, health care providers can offer not only safe and convenient access to trusted information but also direction to the most appropriate level of care," states John Stevens, Clinical Solutions Director. "I’m confident that Healthwise Connect, accompanied with the decision-support technology from Clinical Solutions, will form a robust offering for many health care providers in North America.”

Healthwise CEO Don Kemper adds, “For a new mom whose child has a fever, for a middle-aged man considering back surgery, or for an older woman focused on the pros and cons of hip replacement surgery, Clinical Solutions and Healthwise can help people get the right information to help them make the best health care decisions. The Healthwise-Clinical Solutions agreement will help improve health outcomes for thousands, if not millions, of people in the United States and Canada.”

Healthwise interactive symptom topics help clinicians assess each caller’s symptoms and determine the appropriate treatment or care. Healthwise Connect’s easy-to-use clinician-facing interface follows consistent, medically reviewed triage and logic for reliable outcomes. The interface accepts information from Clinical Solutions application to customize the experience for age and gender. And the caller’s responses help guide the clinician to ask only those questions relevant to the caller and his or her health issue.

Healthwise Connect links call-tracking software to the in-depth and actionable health information in the Healthwise Knowledgebase. The Healthwise Knowledgebase includes topics on health conditions, medical tests and procedures, medicines, decision-support tools, and everyday health and wellness issues.

Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. Nearly 120 million times a year, people turn to Healthwise information to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say “no” to the care they don’t need. Healthwise partners with health plans, hospitals, disease management companies, and health Web sites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve.

To learn more about the Healthwise decision-support products, visit www.healthwise.org.

1st oral treatment for MS submitted for FDA approval by Merck KGaA

Germany's Merck KGaA filed for approval of its multiple sclerosis pill cladribine in the US in a bid to bring the first oral treatment against the debilitating disease to market.

The drugs-to-chemicals hybrid said last week that it submitted a New Drug Application with the FDA, two months after regulatory filing in Europe.

As reported by Reuters, the move follows a pivotal Phase III clinical trial, which in January showed that cladribine reduced the number of relapses per year in patients with some forms of MS by 58 percent compared with a placebo.

In a best-case scenario, the pill would come to the U.S. market in the second quarter of 2010, and European market launch would ideally be in the last quarter of 2010, said Elmar Schnee, the head of Merck's drugs unit, earlier this month.

The filing helps the German drugmaker make headway over Swiss rival Novartis, which is planning to seek U.S. and European approval for an MS pill known as FTY720 at the end of this year.

According to some analysts, cladribine and FTY720 are expected to take a sizable chunk of the $8.6 billion market for MS treatments, currently dominated by injectables from Teva, Biogen Idec, Bayer, and Merck KGaA itself.

(At Stinson Brand Innovation, we work with the Merck Chemicals group to support its global biosciences marketing and sales strategy for the brands Calbiochem, Novabiochem, and Novagen. These life science research products are used worldwide in university laboratories, as well as in pharmaceutical and biotech industries.)

2010-11 flu season to see Afluria® vaccine marketed by extensive Merck field network in U.S.

CSL Biotherapies and its parent company, CSL Limited, one of the world's leading manufacturers of influenza vaccine, announced an agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. on rights to market and distribute Afluria^® in the United States under an exclusive, six-year agreement.

Afluria, a CSL product, is a non-adjuvanted trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine sold in two different formulations: thimerosol-free, pre-filled syringes, and in multi-dose vials.

Merck will have the exclusive right to sell and distribute Afluria in the United States beginning with the 2010-11 seasonal influenza season. The manufacture, filling and packaging of Afluria will continue and will not change with this agreement; CSL Ltd. will retain the Afluria license.

"We are pleased to have reached this important agreement with Merck," said Paul R. Perreault, President of CSL Biotherapies U.S. "CSL is committed to providing influenza vaccine to the United States and we are now able to leverage Merck's extensive field network in meeting that commitment and in making Afluria available to many more people in the U.S. next flu season. This is yet another milestone in our companies' shared history of close collaboration and tru innovation in the area of vaccine development and distribution."

For the past several years, CSL and Merck have partnered together successfully in bringing Gardasil^® to market in Australia and i other areas of the southern hemisphere. Merck markets Gardasil, a cervical cancer vaccine, and delivers royalties to CSL, which holds a key intellectual property patent on that product. The CSL Group, which includes CSL Biotherapies, has a combined heritage of outstanding contribution to medicine and human health with more than 90 years experience in the development and manufacture of vaccines and plasma protein biotherapies.

Afluria was approved by the U.S. FDA in September 2007 for active immunization of persons age 18 years and older against influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B present in the vaccine. The indication is based on the immune response elicited by Afluria; no controlled clinical studies have demonstrated a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with Afluria.

While Afluria represents CSL's first entry into the U.S. vaccine market, CSL-branded influenza vaccines are licensed in 27 countries worldwide. The company also provides bult antigen for influenza vaccine sold in 24 countries.

The CSL Group, which includes CSL Biotherapies, CSL Research & Development, CSL Bioplasma, and CSL Behring, has more than 10,000 employees and operates in 27 countries worldwide.

Three Rivers – a new medical series, and another example of seeing the same story from 3 points of view

THREE RIVERS is a new medical drama that starts October 4 on CBS.

According to the website, the show “goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country where every moment counts. However, dealing with donor families in their darkest hour and managing the fears and concerns of apprehensive recipients takes much more than just a sharp scalpel.”

The idea of looking at the same story from three points of view is something we at Stinson Brand Innovation apply with our N-of-8^® research model.

In our story development sessions, N-of-8^® enables you to respond to multiple customers’ needs using their own language – and create a story that aligns your brand to customers’ key issues and needs.


Leading the elite medical team on THREE RIVERS is Dr. Andy Yablonski (Alex O'Loughlin), the highly-skilled workaholic lead organ transplant surgeon, whose good-natured personality and sarcastic wit makes him popular with his patients and colleagues. His colleagues include:

• Dr. Miranda Foster (Katherine Moennig), a surgical fellow with a rebellious streak and fiery temper who strives to live up to her deceased father's excellent surgical reputation;
• Dr. David Lee (Daniel Henney), a womanizing surgical resident who's broken as many hearts as he's replaced;
• Ryan Abbott (Christopher J. Hanke), the inexperienced new transplant coordinator who arranges the intricately choreographed process of quickly and carefully transporting organs from donor to patient;
• Dr. Sophia Jordan(Julia Ormond), the head of surgery and a dedicated medical professional; and
• Pam Acosta (Justina Machado), Andy's no-nonsense operating assistant and best friend.

The show uses split-screen transitions from scene to scene to create a collage of the doctor, patient and donor every few minutes. This visual technique is used to illustrate the three points of view in this high-stakes arena – and race against the clock.

Click here to watch a preview trailer of the new series THREE RIVERS.

Covidien to Acquire Aspect Medical Systems -- with a goal of accelerating growth of Bispectral Index

Covidien this week announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Aspect Medical Systems, a global market leader in brain monitoring technology.

Founded in 1987, Aspect is recognized as a pioneer and global market leader in brain monitoring, with 2008 revenues of $99 million. Aspect's premier product -- Bispectral Index(TM) (BIS) technology -- became the first clinically proven and commercially available direct measure of the effects of anesthetics and sedatives on the brain. Aspect led the way to develop proprietary technologies that directly measure these effects and ultimately improve the quality and cost effectiveness of patient care. BIS technology is designed to allow medical professionals to reliably gauge the precise amount of anesthetic medication required by each patient, resulting in better overall patient care.

"The acquisition of Aspect will allow Covidien to broaden its product offerings and add a market leading brain monitoring technology to its portfolio," said Pete Wehrly, President, Respiratory & Monitoring Solutions, Covidien. "Aspect will bring us enhanced clinical expertise, a strong research & development organization and expand our presence in the operating room. The acquisition is consistent with our strategy of expanding into adjacent market segments and will help us achieve our mission of enhancing the quality of life for patients and improving outcomes for our customers."

"Joining Covidien provides Aspect with the scale and resources to accelerate growth of BIS and other Aspect products, to continue to invest in outcomes research, comparative effectiveness and innovation, and to support the strategy of providing products that are designed to improve patient outcomes," said Nassib Chamoun, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aspect Medical Systems. "Above all, we are pleased to become part of a company that shares our commitment to evidence-based medicine and the development of products that help clinicians cost-effectively deliver better care."

Covidien is a leading global healthcare products company that creates innovative medical solutions for better patient outcomes and delivers value through clinical leadership and excellence. Covidien manufactures, distributes and services a diverse range of industry-leading product lines in three segments: Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies. With 2008 revenue of $10 billion, Covidien has more than 41,000 employees worldwide in 59 countries, and its products are sold in over 140 countries.

Aspect Medical Systems' Bispectral Index (BIS) technology has been used to assess approximately 34 million patients and has been the subject of more than 3,300 published articles and abstracts. BIS technology is installed in approximately 78 percent of hospitals listed in the July 2009 U.S. News and World Report ranking of America's Best Hospitals and in approximately 74 percent of all U.S. operating rooms. In the last twelve months, BIS technology was used in approximately 19 percent of all U.S. surgical procedures requiring general anesthesia or deep sedation. Aspect Medical Systems has OEM agreements with nine leading manufacturers of patient monitoring systems.

21 trends in human genomics in 2009: peering into the Genetic Future

It may be the fall, so what better time to check in to see how some of the major predicted trends are playing out in the human genomics field in 2009 – in research outcomes, as well as shifts in the rapidly-evolving consumer genomics industry.

Here are predictions made by Daniel MacArthur of Genetic Future for the emerging (and ongoing) trends of 2009 in the field of human genomics:

1. 2009 will be the year of rare variants for common diseases.
2. Genome-wide association studies of common variants will exceed the 100,000-sample mark, but provide diminishing returns in terms of convincing associations.
3. The validation of many newly-discovered variants will prove difficult.
4. Isolated populations will provide a powerful source of new genetic variants for common diseases and other complex traits.
5. Attention will move gradually away from complex diseases and towards the genetic dissection of disease-related traits.
6. The causal variants underlying some genome-wide association signals will be mapped, while others will prove elusive.
7. Human genetics will become more intimidatingly complex than ever.
8. There will be increasing emphasis on the functional validation of signals identified by genome-wide association studies.
9. Studies incorporating individuals from multiple populations will be fruitful in mapping causal variants, and uncovering differences in disease genes between human groups.
10. Most of the "missing heritability" will stay missing.
11. Still, clinically usefully genetic tests for some complex diseases will be developed.
12. Genetic variants underlying complex psychiatric diseases will remain largely elusive.
13. We will start to see "bad" genome-wide association studies.
14. There will be a proliferation of new companies attempting to gain a share of the personal genomics market, most of whom will sink rapidly into obscurity.
15. We will not see a retail complete genome sequence offered for less than $1000.
16. Mainstream personal genomics companies will offer affordable large-scale (but not whole-genome) sequencing, with disappointing results.
17. Navigenics will not come to dominate the consumer genomics market.
18. The personal genomics industry will begin to blur out of existence. By this I don't mean that demand for personal genomics will disappear, but rather that the industry will cease to exist as a discrete, monolithic entity.
19. The regulatory landscape will shift - but in which direction?
20. There will be an uptick in "it's all lies" stories about personal genomics, impacting on public perception of the industry.
21. Genetic ancestry will bring in big money, but it will trigger a backlash from indigenous populations.

Click here to read the full commentary of his predictions.

According to its profile, the mission of MacArthur’s Genetic Future blog is to cut through the hype associated with the brave new world of human genomics. It reports on the latest findings from genome-wide association studies and large-scale sequencing projects investigating the genetic underpinnings of common disease, putting their results in context and in language that consumers can understand.

MacArthur also reviews the scientific basis and usability of products offered by commercial genetic testing companies, dissecting the studies used by these companies to justify their expensive tests, and describing in plain language how useful such tests are likely to be to consumers.

5 e-books released as Innovation Classics series

Innovation Classics is a new series of e-books dedicated to collecting and publishing the best – or perhaps the underappreciated – innovation writing of the past. The first set of Innovation Classics includes well-known stories:

• No Animal Food by Rupert H. Wheldon
• Notes on Nursing by Florence Nightingale
• Chocolate: Or, An Indian Drinke by Capt. James Wadsworth
• Medical Essays by Oliver Wendell Holmes
• Grappling with the Monster by T.S. Arthur

In the “Editor’s Introduction” to each e-book, we explain how the book relates to current health, science, and technology innovation.

The Innovation Classics series of e-books in pdf format can be downloaded at no charge by visiting our website. Click here to download your free e-books.

4 health sites that offer something new (or improved)

Blog entry submitted by Katelyn Phillips, one of our "Stin-terns"

For the past few years, I’ve been getting all my medical advice from my most trusted health advisor: WebMD. Unfortunately, we’ve had a rather tumultuous relationship. It’s always the same thing: I feel a new pain somewhere on my body, I enter my symptoms on WebMD.com, and I am told that I basically dying from either some form of cancer, or a rare strain of some awful virus. So imagine my relief after I encountered the article, “What’s New (Or Improved) In Health Sites” in the Wall Street Journal.

According to the article, health-care sites are dramatically evolving into more than just medical “encyclopedias for dummies” and symptom checkers. Sites are finally being receptive to consumer health concerns, “including prescription drug safety, quality of care, and the ability to network with other patients facing similar health problems.” Sites such as Microsoft Health Vault even offer patients the option of storing – and later sharing – health records online. Of course, this is controversial due to privacy issues and whatnot, but for patients with multiple doctors performing multiple tests, it can be extremely helpful, even lifesaving.

Even more sites are focused on helping patients manage their care more effectively and efficiently. Here’s a quick sampling of some new – or improved – health sites to whet your appetite:

Consumermedsafety.org - Option to “fill out an online form on the medications you take, and the institute will send you information on drug-safety ratings, possible interactions among your medications, side effects, and reviews from other patients” – all for free!

WhyNotTheBest.org - Allows consumers to compare how hospitals in their areas are performing on various measures of safety and care

HazMap (hazmap.nlm.nih.gov) - Database providing information on “exposure to chemicals and biologic substances at work and with certain hobbies”

EverydayHealth.com - Links together 24 separate health sites, including WhatToExpect.com for pregnancy and CarePages.com for posting patient progress, as well as provides custom health resources

It’s nice to know there are more options available for patients and consumers to reference as a second opinion when WebMD is diagnosing a death sentence. For more information on other new or improved health sites, click here to check out the rest of the article.

4 top-performing healthcare companies are adapting to changing market forces

The blog was written by Robb Hughes, our finance manager and one of the newest innovators on our team.

Every year BusinessWeek analyzes the trailing 36 months average return on capital (EBIT/[long-term debt + equity]) and sales growth for all of the companies listed in its sister company's S&P 500 index and then ranks fifty standouts to the BusinessWeek 50 Best Performing Companies list.

This year's “BusinessWeek 50” is teeming with game changing health sciences companies like #1 Gilead Sciences, #12 Varian Medical Systems, #22 Express Scripts and #33 Waters. Pioneering companies like Apple, Google, Starbucks and Amazon.com also met the financial criteria to be included.

Common tactics or tools used by many of the finalist on this year's list include:

• Generous pay for performance incentives that align employee interests’ with owners
• Employment of experimental technologies for product differentiation
• Disruptive and innovative strategies

These traits shouldn't be surprising in view of results of a McKinsey study on performance conducted in 2002. McKinsey studied 1,000 companies over an 18-year period. The study showed that "those that made the biggest leaps in profitability were often the ones that increased their spending on acquisitions and innovation the most amid recessions."

Coincidentally, the #1 Performer on this year's list, Gilead Sciences, is a member of the pharmaceutical industry. For those new to our blog, Stinson Brand Innovation, is a global health, science, and technology brand consultancy. We help define the core strengths of brands like Gilead Sciences.

Gilead's original approach to simplifying complicated drug regimens, especially those for HIV/AIDS, has been a key factor in it successfully surpassing $5.3B in sales and better than $2B in net income.

Like many of the 33 returning companies to BW's list, Gilead is not new to the BW 50. The lucrative returns from its popular treatments for HIV/AIDS have positioned Gilead on BW's list for five years running. Sales growth over the past three years eclipsed 38% with an average return on capital exceeding 43%. These returns were the rewards for a well executed game changing strategy that put patients back in control of their lives.

Previously, HIV/AIDS patients took cocktails of medications that sometimes had to be administered intravenously. Gilead was among the first companies to invent a once-a-day-pill. According to the article, "today, nearly 8 out of every 10 new patients diagnosed with HIV in the U.S. start on Gilead drugs and, typically, remain on them for many years." Even as the company tries to grow the drug into untapped markets, the company is beginning to focus on a new strategy: broaden the usage of once-a-day pills into other disease areas such as Hep B and C that have patient pools much larger than the U.S. HIV population.

Gilead isn’t immune to the recession. It is predicting lower sales for 2009, like most companies, but instead of nailing down the hatches and playing defense, Gilead will invest $1.4B to purchase CV Therapeutics, a cardiovascular disease drug developer.

At Stinson Brand Innovation, our expertise is assisting specialty pharmaceutical companies do more than map their strategies and tactics that achieve successful commercialization and sustainable competitive advantage like Gilead has. We employ a tool called Strategic GPS^® that can create an advanced guidance system for a life science brand that helps move the product adoption curve forward, faster.

For more about Stinson’s Strategic GPS^® tool read our white paper #20 “How to Create a Guidance System for Life Science Brands.”

4 ways to repurpose failed innovation

Sometimes inventions just don't pan out. But they may turn out to be useful if you apply them to other challenges.

And as recession-racked companies search for ways to cut costs, some are rediscovering innovations in previously unsuccessful projects.

Here are four tips on making the most of first-round disappointments:

1. Prepare for comebacks -- Notes should read like how-to manuals so any product or process can be easily replicated.
2. Regularly review shelved ideas -- A specific person or team must reevaluate disappointing inventions periodically.
3. Try them again elsewhere -- Look for ways that flawed projects might solve problems in other arenas.
4. Look into the future -- Project how technological advances could transform yesterday's ideas into breakthroughs.

Read more ideas at "IN: Inside Innovation."

4 SEO Tips to Move Your Brand Up -- in the Search Results

This blog is by Greg Dosmann, our Associate Creative Director and rockin' web CHEMist

Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques are not quite rocket science; they can be implemented by anyone who wishes to increase the exposure of their web site business.

SEO is all about optimization and is crucial for success on the web. By optimization, I mean two types of methods:

• On-Page optimization -- editing the web site code and content keyword research, choosing the best keywords used to find your business and coupling this with relevant content that is useful to your readers.
• Off-Page Optimization -- back linking from quality sites that sell or display information related to your business. This is best achieved through contextual one-way links to your site from a high traffic site where your target audience will browse for information on your products. One-way links shine bright in the eyes of Google, if they are relevant

B to B Magazine recently published a list by Stephen Riegel, director of search and co-founder of Faction Media.

His 4 tips on nudging up the SEO rankings are simple and can be implemented with little effort.

1. Describe yourself. You should not have “Home” as a descriptor of business in search results unless you’re a Realtor or a builder. Every page on your site should have a unique title and description based on page’s content.
2. Check title tags. Title tags are among the most important elements of most search engines’ algorighms. Meta information helps the search engines define content as well as provide added relevancy to searchers.
3. Optimize keywords. Capture your sites internal search results to understand the content navigation needs of your audience. Isolate the terms that are leading towards success and test these directly in a “pay per click” environment.
4. Localize. Whether you sell directly or through distribution channels, you can support your sales efforts by placing detailed sales contact information on your site. Let your audiences know where and how they can contact you or your distribution partners at the most local of levels.

When you look at it, it’s really another application of C.H.E.M.^®

• Connect relevant information to your website.
• Honestly define the content of the pages.
• Easy to optimize content because you know it best.
• Motivate your audience to locate and contact you.

Can you “hear” me now? Telemedicine networks save critical time

Today's blog is written by Layne Shapiro, one of our brand engagement managers.

With new technologies available, how can the healthcare industry improve patient care while maintaining patient confidentiality? Remote access improves efficiencies across many industries, and it’s finally beginning to be implemented in the healthcare industry.

Patient privacy concerns have slowed the healthcare industry from moving to remote access solutions. With the passing of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the demand for privacy and security of electronic healthcare information has increased. With HIPPA, compliance is not a choice - it’s a requirement. Since remote access can lower costs, raise productivity and improve patient care, there is an increase interest in providing remote access while maintaining patient privacy.

Healthcare professionals frequently require timely access to confidential patient information in order to provide the highest quality care, which in some cases can mean the difference between life and death. With Skype and Google Videochat already offering live-streaming video communication, it only makes sense to use this technology to improve access to healthcare via telemedicine. Now doctors can view patients from anywhere telemedicine is available online instead of staying at the office all hours. Expert specialty physicians practice at specialized centers and have limited accessibility. With the use of live-streaming video and audio communication, access to care will be increased and critical time can be saved improving diagnosis and increasing the frequency of appropriate treatment choice.

Eventually, if telemedicine networks connect with a majority of the specialty physicians it would increase access to care for people through the world. This would allow for preliminary review immediately, even if the patient requires a visit during the night. With increased access to care, the demand for the highest quality of care would increase and we could begin to see outsourcing for initial diagnosis.

6 Ways Branding Can Address Current BioPharma Trends -- free teleseminar for Mid-Atlantic brand marketers Thurs 9/17 at noon

We at STINSON Brand Innovation have been following the developments of the biopharma corridor that extends across the Mid-Atlantic states - including Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky.

The Mid-Atlantic region is home to more than 15,000 health, science, and technology companies. The region enjoys vibrant entrepreneurial leaders, proximity to FDA, NIH and other federal labs, as well as a diverse mix of research universities and medical centers.

In just the last month, we have established a Mid-Atlantic region business development presence out of Charlotte, NC. Our target is emerging life sciences companies, along with biopharma companies with products in earlier stages of development

Now, we're offering our first educational event specifically created for Mid-Atlantic biopharma companies.

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009
Time: 12:00 1:00 PM Eastern
Registration: http://www.forward-fast.com/teleseminar

Teleseminar Overview:

Is your product "stuck" because of internal resource limitation? Stuck because of external forces like changes in regulation and industry practices? Stuck with low brand awareness, attitude, or usage? Stuck with the same old promotional tactics? Stuck with unenthusiastic meetings and conventions? Worst of all, stuck on a flat sales curve?

Do you need some new and innovative ideas to accelerate the adoption of your brand?

If so, join a select number of your professional colleagues on Thursday, September 17, for a free teleseminar on How to Accelerate Your Brand.

What you will learn:

• What is "brand innovation"?
• What makes a brand more likeable?
• Why is your brand more than a logo?
• What does your brand offer to the customer and how is that what you're really selling?
• What brand associations can be connected to your product?
• What is your brand experience and how can it make the most difference?

Register now at http://www.forward-fast.com/teleseminar

Seeing the same brand hallmarks in new ways: Lessons for N-of-8 from “Indiana Jones”

When using the N-of-8 process, it’s important to remember that you’re not just writing a story – you’re developing a BRAND story.

So the core brand hallmarks must be presented and maintained consistently. But that doesn’t mean the story can’t be told in many different ways.

Consider the series of Indiana Jones movies. The respected, intellectual professor pulls off his bow tie and glasses to search for treasure. Even across four installments, there are elements that make an “Indiana Jones” story:

• Jaunts to exotic destinations
• Dodging booby traps
• Fighting hand-to-hand with the bad guys
• Unearthing ancient ruins
• Hacking through jungles
• Taking unusual transportation
• Dining on spectacular, even bizarre meals
• Snakes!

And there are the hallmarks of Indiana Jones’ personal brand: hat, whip, watch, journal, unshaven beard, even the influences of his father.

With these central and fundamental ingredients, many stories can be crafted with their own unique locations, characters, plots, dangers, and fantasies.

It can be extended from Raiders of the Lost Ark to Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, and 20 years later, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What’s more, it can provide the story platform of media extensions into TV series, pinball and video games, and an amusement park ride.

Far from limiting your creative potential, defining the brand hallmarks gives a structure to which you can then build endless story possibilities.

The same principles can be seen when analyzing other popular movies series, like Star Wars, James Bond, Pink Panther, and Rocky. That’s why I often use these as a warm-up exercise with our creative teams before we start writing stories for N-of-8 groups. It helps us find parallels, archetypes, villains, conflicts, and climaxes. We recall the look of the titles and credits. We even sing the theme song or hum the main chorus.

As you begin crafting your brand’s story, put together a list of the escapades you’ll experience – plunging into a pit of snakes, cruising around on elephants, hitching a ride of a zeppelin, or searching for the Holy Grail.

GM "Reinvention"

When General Motors executives heard the pitch for a mea culpa TV commercial titled "Reinvention" - which is airing now and ends with the line "The only chapter we're focused on is chapter one" - the brass needed convincing. (Click on the image below to view the spot.)


"They had to man up and own their mistakes," says Eric Hirshberg, president and ad maker Deutsch LA. For GM and Chrysler, getting people to buy their cars is a marketing challenge for the ages.

Here's how five advertising gurus would go about, as they told Newsweek writer Matthew Phillips:

1. Sell the cars, not the companies. The GM and Chrysler logos smack of failure, but some of the cars still have cachet. "Push Cadillac," says Crispin Porter + Bogusky's Chuck Porter. "Push minivans. Chrysler invented them."
2. Stop sugarcoating. Prior to "Reinvention," GM ran a cringeworthy ad that said, "America needs a comeback. Let's put on our rally caps." Rally caps? "That's dangrous," says Euro RSCG's Andrew Bennett. "It evokes pity."
3. Give us real people. If you take the misty-eyed approach, focus on people whom we'd actually root for. "Show me plants shutting down; let me hear the workers," says Element79 CCO Dennis Ryan. "That story's powerful."
4. Embrace changing habits. Car ads don't get us into the dealer anymore, they make us feel good after we've left. "People seek the ads to justify the purchase," says Interbrand's David Martin. So remind us why we love your cars.
5. Be the future. Automakers need to talk about next-wave strategies: building from the buyer's specs, no more one-car-fits-all. "What they're doing feels very 1970s, like gray-haired marketing," says Anne Bologna, CEO of Toy.

11x26 mm pill with microprocessor -- The iPill

Today's blog was submitted by Norah Tang, an intern with our company and a student at University of Illinois at Chicago in public relations and communications.

It has been a year since Philips announced the patent for its cutting-edge R&D efforts in the development of a remote control pill known as iPill.

The 11-by-26-millimeter capsule is a reality now.

The iPill is a miniature capsule packed with a microprocessor, power supply, medicine reservoir and pump, and a radio. The greatest feature of the pill is to allow doctors to deliver drugs to any particular area by navigating the human digestive system via gauging pH levels, and then communicating to the outside unit via wireless transmitters.

According to Philips, though the current design is a prototype, it is suitable for serial manufacturing.

Click here to view a video on this amazing little robot pill.

17.5% drop in Gatorade brand sales - but they still say "G" is not a gamble

PepsiCo Inc. executives say a high-profile makeover of its Gatorade sports drink is on track despite recent weak sales, and they plan to introduce an array of new beverages to appeal to consumers who have drifted away from the powerhouse brand. This according to a posting on WSJ.com.

In an interview, PepsiCo's Americas Beverages chief Massimo d'Amore said that a new marketing campaign with a big letter "G" is proceeding "fully in line with our plan." Internal research conducted by the company shows that the "G" campaign scores high in the "coolness factor," he said.

A summer promotion offering Gatorade in limited-edition bottles that feature Michael Jordan is exceeding expectations, he said.


"We did not just decide to change the identity on the back of an envelope," Mr. d'Amore said. "'G' is not a gamble. 'G' is a deliberate strategy that will work in the long run."


In January, PepsiCo ran teaser television, online and print advertisements asking, "What's G?" During the Super Bowl, advertising revealed that "G" was Gatorade, "the heart, hustle and soul of athleticism" as bottles hit store shelves.

In the first six months of this year, sales volume dropped 17.5%, according to estimates from Beverage Digest, an industry publication. That caused Gatorade to lose 4.5% in share of the sports drink market, but the brand still dominates the category with a 75% share. Soft beverage sales in the Americas and currency fluctuations weighed on the company's second-quarter profit of $1.66 billion, down 2% from $1.7 billion. Revenue fell 3% to $10.59 billion.

Pepsi says Gatorade sales have been hurt by a weak economy. Casual consumers who bought the sports drink because it was cool - not to replenish themselves after a workout - are seeking out cheaper alternatives, particularly tap water, the company says. They have also been drawn to other products such as enhanced water and tea, executives say.

Chairman and Chief Executive Indra Nooyi said, in a Wednesday, July 22 earnings conference call with analysts and investors, that during the housing boom, construction workers en route to job sites routinely bought a half-dozen bottles of Gatorade each morning at convenience stores. That's not happening now, she said.

"We grew past our core occasions," Mr. d'Amore said. "The key question we should debate is, should we chase those occasions or not?"

Click here to read more.

4 billion opportunities for mobile computing innovations

The blog today is written by Peter Erickson, one of our Verbal Brand CHEM-ists (and mobile evangelist)

A recent article in NYSE Magazine quoted Nokia’s market research that “indicates sometime in the next 12 months the number of people around the world who have cell phones will surpass the 4 billion individuals who use a toothbrush.”

World dental hygiene notwithstanding, this data points to the reach and potential impact of cell phones in our world. The article continues by focusing on the news that Visa and Nokia have teamed up to produce an application that enables next-gen Nokia phone users to access their Visa accounts worldwide, pay for goods and services, transfer money, receive real-time alerts on account activity, and receive discount offers. Consumers don’t even have to live near a bank or ATM.

The Apple iPhone message that “there’s an app for that” makes it clear that not only are mobile computing innovations enabling consumers to do more, they have expanded the range of where information can be exchanged and commerce conducted.

Regardless what device or computing platform we us, mobile innovations like these are making a positive impacting our work and personal lives through increased productivity. And now, many of these consumer-driven innovations have migrated to the healthcare field.

Imagine that your physician can access highly detailed patient information regardless of the practice office. It’s already available. The physician can manage a patient’s health wherever the physician and patient meet – even evaluate and authorize prescriptions. In addition, mobile computing is enabling healthcare professionals to access CME programming though the handsets, and even listen to streaming content design specifically for them.

Our Stinson Brand Innovation White Paper #60: A Look in the Crystal Ball covers this topic in more detail. To read more on mobile computing innovations in the healthcare environment, click here.

"Aja" performed by Steely Dan at Chicago Theatre -- the brand was remarkable and musically perfect

I used to listen to my "Aja" album til the grooves wore out. And I may know nearly every note and word. So I expected to really enjoy Monday’s concert that featured the super-duo performing the album in its entirety.

But I never expected such “sonic brand perfection” as I experienced.

Donald Fagen, Walter Becker – along with a full band and Dan-ettes back up singers – gave a remarkable and musically perfect show of their best record.

From the first chords of “Black Cow” and into the dime-dancing title track “Aja,” Fagen established his stage centerpiece. And even better, there was no audience chit-chat until the whole album was played. “Peg,” “Deacon Blues,” “Home at Last,” “I Got the News,” and “Josie” were each delivered better than the last.

Finally, Fagen welcomed us with “Hi ya, kids.” Then took us right back to the ‘70s with their brand of jazz-rock-blues fusion we came for. Jenny and I have adopted “Hey Nineteen” as our anthem. We also imagined if the group could ever play “Time Out of Mind” at places like, say, the White House. I thought the Dan-ettes put new attitude behind “Dirty Work.” And I waited patiently to the encore to sing along with “Reelin’ in the Years” at the top of my voice. (The only regret is that someone did indeed lose Rikki’s number.)

I have seen all the classic brand-name acts in concert, and this will absolutely go down as one of my top ever.

4 parts to a Change Agent story – How you manage and respond to change is the difference between success and disruption

This book review of Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter was submitted by our account executive Brandy Gonsoulin.

John Kotter’s acclaimed change agent book uses an easy-to-read fable to illustrate the timely and sensitive topic. Using a penguin colony faced with news that their iceberg is melting, he demonstrates the team struggle and creates scenarios similar to the ones we non-penguins encounter daily in our quest or resistance to change – and shows how a collective, driven and organized process can bring results. How individuals manage and respond to change is the difference between success and disruption.

Most literature on change deals with a logical process. In Kotter’s case, there are four parts:

1. setting the stage
2. deciding what to do
3. making it happen, and
4. making it stick.

Read by itself, the effect on the reader is minimal. Read through the lens of a heroic story makes it easy for the educated mind to drop its analytical reasoning and put change in the context of the human element.

Whether or not you have a melting iceberg, the roadblocks the colony faces and triumph of innovative thinking creates a story that we all want to be a part of as we navigate our organizational changes. If penguins can be successful in change, why can’t we?

Read more book reviews and other news about our company in the latest issue of Accelerate.

7 Professional Inputs on "Selling Health Care Reform to Voters"

Today’s blog was submitted by Kendal Brown, a Visual CHEMist and rising design star in our firm

I currently follow the Daily Heller newsletter of Print Magazine written by Steven Heller, who has been in the creative industry long enough to have a valued opinion. Every morning Steven brings me interesting insights or creative discoveries from past, present, and future players in the creative world.

Being that we are in the consulting world for Health, Science, and Technology branding, it was particularly exciting for me to receive the newsletter regarding his involvement in a New York Times opinion article on selling the Healthcare Reform. At the end of his newsletter Steven asks, “how would you sell health care (or not) given your design acumen?”


Looking closer, the NY Times article (in the Opinion: Room for Debate section) published expert opinions on this topic (Steven Heller's included). Listed below are the 7 experts and some of their key suggestions for President Obama to consider:

1. Robert Shrum, presidential campaign strategist - Don't abandon, don't delay. President Obama needs to hold his ground. It won't be easy.
2. Julian E. Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs - "Sell a vision for health care where government plays a larger role" Work on the message.
3. Mark Penn, former adviser to Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton - Appeal to both/all sides, people need to know it won't how it will affect them and that the impact won't be negative for them, even if it helps other people.
4. Mike Murphy, Republican Party consultant - Remain truly bipartisan. "Talk to people like grown-ups."
5. Harold Pollack, professor, University of Chicago - Tell the stories, share why this is all so important. (Case Studies)
6. Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis - Stay specific and make it easy to understand.
7. Steven Heller, art director and design critic - "Whatever the words and image, be sure to make a convincing promise and prove it can be kept"

Here at Stinson Brand Innovation, we might approach the idea of selling Healthcare Reform much like we approach any one of our client's campaigns. We could use a tool like CHEM to ask the questions of our own messaging:

C - Does it Connect with the desired audience in a meaningful way? In this case, does it connect as a bipartisan message, that is relevant to both audiences? Do people understand how it will affect them as an individual?

H - Is the message Honest? Are the promises realistic, is there evidence or are there case studies to back it up?

E - Is it Easy? Is the message easy to understand and specific yet simple enough?

M - Does it Motivate the audience into taking action? Reform is absolutely necessary, but few can predict the outcome or see the light at the end of the tunnel. People need to understand that it might get worse before it gets better yet still be able to believe in a positive outcome. Do they want to share the message with others?

Below are the links to the mentioned Newsletter and Article in case you want to read more:
"Sick of the Health Care Debate?"
"Selling Health Care Reform to Voters"

2 leaders in blood collection and transfusion technologies -- Fenwal and Golden Meditech -- form joint venture in China

Fenwal, Inc. of Lake Zurich, Illinois and Golden Meditech of Hong Kong have agreed to form a joint venture in China to focus on blood collection and transfusion products for the fast-growing Chinese medical market.

Medical professionals in China are expected to benefit from the combination of:

• Fenwal's technological leadership in blood collection, separation, preservation and transfusion, and
• Golden Meditech's expertise in China's blood-related medical device and blood-banking fields.

The joint venture will operate from Beijing and serve customers throughout China.

Initially, the joint venture will focus on sales and distribution of a range of Fenwal and Golden Meditech products – including the Fenwal AMICUS^® cell-separation system used to collect platelets; and the Golden Meditech 3000H Plasma Exchange system designed to remove toxins from patients' blood.

"Fenwal is a pioneer and leader in advanced blood technologies," said Mr. Kam Yuen, Golden Meditech chairman and chief executive officer. "We're looking to bring together the leadership, knowledge and capabilities of both companies to expand and customize our offerings for blood collection and transfusion medicine in China."

"Golden Meditech is a respected medical leader with extensive knowledge of the China market," said Ron Labrum, Fenwal president and chief executive officer. "Its people, technologies and infrastructure will complement Fenwal's current offerings in China. Together, we expect to create new opportunities to expand the market for advanced blood technologies that will benefit patients throughout China."

For more information, visit the companies’ websites at www.fenwalinc.com and www.goldenmeditech.com

4 Characteristics of a Diverse Brand Team

Blog entry submitted by Nancy Stearns Burgess, one of our creative CHEMists and a card-carrying “ESTJ”

Something I learned early in my career was the importance of diversity on a team. Not just cultural and ethnic diversity — though they have their own rewards. Instead, I believe a blend of personality types can make work teams more effective—as long as mutual understanding reigns. This insight can also give branded communications a more targeted edge.

“Personalities” are some of the most rewarding, fascinating—yet also frustrating—aspects of work, family, and social experiences. Tools, such as “Personality Quadrants,” can be helpful models. Perhaps you’ve heard of Quadrant I, Quadrant 2, etc. Similarly, some businesses ascribe to the model of Directors, Socializers, Relaters, and Analyzers to help bring focus and meaning to interactions.

Granted these tools have their merits. But they’re also overly simplistic—segmenting people into just 4 categories. Years ago, when I managed a multidisciplinary team in the hospital, I learned about the Myers-Briggs characterizations of personalities from psychologists on our team.

Myers and Briggs based their ideas on the work of Carl Jung. I’ve found these characterizations to be helpful at work and at home. According to Myers and Briggs, people’s traits fall on continuums of 4 characteristics:

• Extravert (E) ------ Introvert (I)
• Sensate (S) ------ Intuitive (N)
• Thinker (T) ------ Feeler (F)
• Judger (J) ------ Perceiver (P)

That means there are 16 possible combinations, such as INFP, ESTJ, etc. People can be at one end of the continuum or closer to the middle. What is perhaps most interesting is that people with specific characteristics tend to gravitate toward professions that match their personalities. For example, many nurses and teachers are ESFJs. Most dietitians are ESTJs. INFPs are often psychologists, social workers, and clerics.

When drafting targeted communications to these audiences, insight into their perspectives and how they like to receive and process information, can be invaluable. Likewise, better cooperation in the workplace can take place when you know how to speak the language of those who are opposite yourself on the spectrum.

Once you know your natural inclination, you can use that awareness to both understand (and work effectively with) those with a different perspective and to develop within yourself the opposite pole of the continuum. Check out the online tools to help you recognize which of the 16 combinations best describe you.

Click here to learn more at the Myers and Briggs Foundation.

2nd consecutive “Best of Chicago” Award for STINSON

Stinson Brand Innovation has been selected for the 2009 Best of Chicago Award for the second consecutive year. We were recognized in the Marketing Consultants category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).

Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small businesses through service to their customers and community.


Read more news about our company in the latest issue of our Accelerate newsletter.

#1 out of 122 medical device companies: Covidien recognized as “Top Innovator” with strongest patent portfolio in the industry

One of our client companies, Covidien, has been ranked the top innovator in the medical devices and services industry by The Patent Board™, the official patent ratings partner of The Wall Street Journal.

The Patent Board Scorecard ranked 122 companies in the industry by patent portfolio strength. The Scorecard is a tool to recognize that patent portfolios are measurable financial assets that can be market-value drivers.

In 2009, Covidien moved up to take the #1 spot in rankings for the first time, driven by:

• a 50% increase in Technology Strength™ (an overall assessment of a company’s intellectual property quality and quantity); and
• a 27% increase in Industry Impact™ (the extent to which others are building on Covidien’s portfolio of US patents)

Covidien first appeared on the Patent Scorecard in 2007, when it became an independent company, ranking #4 that year.

Joe Almeida, president of Covidien Medical Devices, said, “Covidien’s continued dedication to the innovation process is reflected in our achieving this prestigious number one ranking. It underscores the depth of our intellectual capital and our collaborative approach to intellectual property development.”

We at Stinson Brand Innovation agree that Covidien has a strong science-linked patent presence in all four of its segments – Medical Devices, Imaging Solutions, Pharmaceutical Products and Medical Supplies.

I believe the company will continue to strengthen its technology development efforts, because Covidien’s businesses work together to turn its technology advances into patents and other valuable IP assets.

Co-creation in health brands?

There is certainly a macro trend-shift from Experience Economy (here is the experience we're creating for you) to Participation Economy (here is the space in which you can participate to create your experience.)


It's happening everywhere on the web, and it's also creeping into actual customer experiences (i.e. Linux, Lego Factory, Apple retail stores, self-service hotels). Yet there's an interesting challenge when it comes to health, science, and technology brands.

I was inspired by a post on http://brand.blogs.com and have been thinking about the concept of co-creation as it relates to our categories.

I'd be interested in your ideas on how to bring co-creation to life within a medical, pharma, biotech, or diagnostic brand setting.

Thoughts?

400th anniversary of Galileo’s astronomical observations

The stars often align for Stinson Brand Innovation with clients in Philadelphia. And now to celebrate the astronomical observations of Galileo, the Franklin Institute has an exhibit of his star-gazing.

“Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy” commemorates the 400th anniversary of his work – and the role of Medicis as science patrons.


So let’s set our GPS to Philly, and make our way to see the display of Galileo telescopes (through September 7).

Click here to read more about the exhibit.

4 core elements of our Ethos of Learning

Learning and sharing experiences are at the heart of everything we do at Stinson Brand Innovation.

In our company’s first 5 years, I’ve learned about the importance of a culture based on the core elements of a:

• Learning atmosphere: with mutual respect, diversity of ideas, and practical guidance
• Learning channels: interconnecting media of information and development tools
• Learning responsibility: personal strategic plans to raise expectations, knowledge, and performance
• Learning partnerships: cooperating with clients, partners, vendors, and medical consultants.

Together, these elements make learning more stimulating, vibrant, motivating, fun, challenging, and rewarding. That’s why we feel so strongly in this Ethos – because it helps us support each other in the exploration and creation of new ideas. Having a positive, productive attitude to learning is crucial to success both as a company and as creative individuals. Recognizing we face challenging times, we strive to help our team members to be proactive and innovative about learning.

That’s the essence of our company’s Ethos.

To read more about our company’s creative reflection, click here to read the latest issue of our company newsletter.

Applying design to tackle tough problems of the developing world

The International Development Design Summit (IDDS) is a month-long collaboration that brings together people from around the globe to build technologies for communities in the developing world. It’s being held at Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana.


The program is the brainchild of MIT Senior Lecturer and D-Lab founder Amy Smith, a past winner of the MacArthur “genius” grant.

It is a conference about innovation, and we believe that innovation thrives in the intersections of disciplines that come from bringing together such an eclectic group. Its draws inspiration from several current models of innovation, design and community empowerment: co-creation, cross-disciplinary collaborations and crowd sourcing.

IDDS is not strictly an academic conference, with papers and proceedings. Instead it emphasizes development of prototypes. It is part of the revolution in design that aims to create equity in the distribution of research and development resources by focusing on the needs of the world’s poor.

The final presentations, along with demonstrations of the prototypes, are today, August 10, at the KNUST Museum.

Click here to follow the International Development Design Summit blog.

2 Chicago-based patient organizations awarded CSL Behring LEAD Grants for grassroots advocacy

CSL Behring, a global leader in the plasma-protein biotherapies industry, has awarded six advocacy grants totaling $100,000 to patient organizations in the United States through the Local Empowerment for Advocacy Development (LEAD) program. LEAD grants support grassroots advocacy efforts by organizations that are committed to helping people who use plasma-derived and recombinant therapies to manage their health conditions.

Since the LEAD program’s inception in 2008, CSL Behring has awarded more than $250,000 in three semi-annual grant cycles.

"CSL Behring is dedicated to advocacy and is honored to be able to collaborate with patient advocacy organizations to improve access to life-saving plasma-derived and recombinant therapies," said Dennis Jackman, CSL Behring Senior Vice President, Public Affairs. "CSL Behring is committed to helping organizations expand their advocacy initiatives and capabilities on both the state and federal levels."

In this most recent round of awards two Chicago-based patient organizations were selected to receive grants, from among the 19 submissions received. LEAD grants were awarded to:

1. The Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago, which promotes healthy lungs and fights lung disease through research, advocacy, and education, will use its funding for advocacy and education. It will advocate for legislation mandating that the Illinois Department of Health assign a staff member exclusively to COPD/Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. It will also advocate for the creation of a $250,000 line item in the Illinois state budget to develop a statewide education, awareness and surveillance plan for COPD/Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
2. The Hemophilia Foundation of Illinois, a state chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) dedicated to the treatment of all bleeding and clotting disorders, will use its grant to fund advocacy efforts depleted by a $700,000 reduction in the state hemophilia program. The Foundation also plans to create a public health program guide for Illinois residents with bleeding disorders.

LEAD grants are awarded semi-annually. The fourth round of grants will occur in October 2009. Applications, specific criteria for applying and more information about the LEAD program are available on the CSL Behring Web site at www.cslbehring.com/leadgrants.

Quote on "Innovation"

Yesterday, I wrote about how Dr. Brian J. Druker persuaded Novartis to take a chance on Gleevec – based on good science, not just the economics. That led me to a great quote from another scientist/executive, Trevor Mundel, head of Novartis' Global Drug Development Division.

He said, “Arguing about commercial value is precisely what paralyzes the industry and leads to the destruction of innovation.”

8-year perspective on Gleevec -- the “selling” of a drug innovation

Since its approval in 2001, Gleevec has turned a rare form of leukemia from a death sentence into a manageable disease. But with only an estimated 10,000 patients worldwide afflicted with chronic myelogenous leukemia, Novartis initially had little interest in the drug.

Dr. Brian J. Druker at Oregon Health & Science University's Knight Cancer Institute, whose lab did the basic work on Gleevec, persuaded Novartis to take a chance on it.

In a 2003 Science Watch interview, Druker explains how he made the case.
Science Watch correspondent Gary Taubes asked Dr. Druker, “How did you convince a major pharmaceutical company to develop a drug for a disease that strikes a comparatively small group of roughly 5,000 Americans a year?”

Here is his reply:

“That was certainly the hard part, and a lot of things had to fall into place. We faced three major hurdles. One was that it was a drug for a small market. Second, there was some liver toxicity in early animal tests. For a variety of reasons, Ciba-Geigy was adverse to taking a risk with a potentially toxic drug. But for me, I was dealing with cancer patients who were dying, and I was accustomed to giving drugs with significant toxicity. Thus, I was much less concerned about potential risks. Here was a compound that might help patients, and I absolutely wanted it to be given a fair trial in people. If it proved to be toxic in people, then of course it wouldn’t move forward. But if it worked with a therapeutic window, that would be worth developing.

“The last hurdle was that Ciba Geigy had just merged with Sandoz to create Novartis. That led to down-sizing and re-evaluations of all the programs. STI571 wasn’t even on anybody’s radar screen. In addition, Nick Lydon, who was the lead investigator of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor program at Ciba Geigy and the main internal proponent for the development of STI571, had left the company.

“Ultimately, I was able to convince a few key people at Novartis to move this compound forward to clinical trials. One of the factors that helped was that this compound also inhibited the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGF-R) tyrosine kinase. The PDGF-R is expressed in most cancers, including most of the common ones, such as breast and prostate cancers. Whether its activity is required for the growth and survival of these cancers is unknown, but if STI571 worked in these diseases, this would be the market size that would interest a large pharmeuctical company. So the view was that if it worked in CML, Novartis had an easy way to the market. It could then be tested broadly and might have a very large market potential.”

You can read the full interview on the journal’s website archive.