Thomas Finneran's reign as head of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council may soon be over. The Boston Globe reported yesterday that Finneran, a powerful Massachusetts Democrat and former House speaker who pled guilty on Friday to a felony obstruction of justice charge, still enjoyed the support of the big pharma companies on the council's board. But after a conference on Monday among all board members, that may not be enough to persuade a majority of the council to continue to stand by Finneran. The Boston Globe has also editorialized in favor of firing Finneran, saying that the politico should have had sense enough to resign last week. Finneran, though, still enjoys tremendous influence among senior Democrats in the state legislature and the council, is likely to proceed gingerly.
- here's the report on Finneran from The Boston Globe
- and here's the Globe's editorial
ALSO: PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken the public's temperature on the pharma biz and finds it running hot. The general perception among the public is that pharma companies are putting profits ahead of people, and unless something is done those negative perceptions could ultimately influence to fate of the entire business. Release