Research Organization

[Anonymous]

Are there any products coming from the research labs to replace the ones coming off patent? Or are they all coming from in-liscencing and purchases of smaller companies? Several senior Lilly managers have joined our research organization and the changes only seem directed at cutting any costs doing experiments, building all kinds of in-silico models because they think it's more effective. They also have us working like crazy on six sigma. They've been at it a couple of years but quite frankly I'm not seeing positive effects. I'm trying to figure out whether we were behind the times or management has belatedly adopted the latest corporate research fad.

 

[Anonymous]

Are there any products coming from the research labs to replace the ones coming off patent? Or are they all coming from in-liscencing and purchases of smaller companies? Several senior Lilly managers have joined our research organization and the changes only seem directed at cutting any costs doing experiments, building all kinds of in-silico models because they think it's more effective. They also have us working like crazy on six sigma. They've been at it a couple of years but quite frankly I'm not seeing positive effects. I'm trying to figure out whether we were behind the times or management has belatedly adopted the latest corporate research fad.

Six Sigma is over elsewhere. It's more appropriate in manufacturing electronic goods, where tight controls at each step of the supply chain result in robust equipment.

On the research side, there is simply no substitute for brilliance. All of the brightest people have either fired Lilly, or done themselves in through sheer honesty. Go figure.

My advice: If in fact you have options, forget the salary and go somewhere you are happy.

 

[Anonymous]

Six Sigma is over elsewhere. It's more appropriate in manufacturing electronic goods, where tight controls at each step of the supply chain result in robust equipment.

On the research side, there is simply no substitute for brilliance. All of the brightest people have either fired Lilly, or done themselves in through sheer honesty. Go figure.

My advice: If in fact you have options, forget the salary and go somewhere you are happy.

Six Sigma had a place in roping in some of the 100+ step processes that had more non-value added steps than not. Unfortunately, management did it's usual trick and tried to sell it as the silver bullet for everything. Now, almost everyone worth a damn is gone, the ones that are left are quagmired in new processes, vendors that dont care about anything except padding their pockets, and a husk of a once fine company. I welcome the day I get a reallocation email.

At least in my area, morale is so low I'm expecting managers to start a stealth suicide watch.

 

[Anonymous]

Six Sigma is a massively destructive force due to its sheer nonsense. I was a hard working researcher... laid off... not Chinese enough. (Diversity, and China worship, combine with Six Sigma to give the labs a focus on anything but science). Science is absoutely the last thing going on at LRL. There is MASSIVE, MASSIVE nonsense driven by a highly disfunctional PM process.

I work for the competition now. We think about our work all day. It's very refreshing.

 

[Anonymous]

There is absolutely nothing of value in the so-called 'pipeline'. In silico-models are worthless and it is all for achieving pm goals for short-term self-promotional purposes. This ship is beyond sunk.

 

[Anonymous]

Are there any products coming from the research labs to replace the ones coming off patent? Or are they all coming from in-liscencing and purchases of smaller companies? Several senior Lilly managers have joined our research organization and the changes only seem directed at cutting any costs doing experiments, building all kinds of in-silico models because they think it's more effective. They also have us working like crazy on six sigma. They've been at it a couple of years but quite frankly I'm not seeing positive effects. I'm trying to figure out whether we were behind the times or management has belatedly adopted the latest corporate research fad.

Look where they've come from...look at their trail of fail. DisAstra-Zeneca? Please.

 

[Anonymous]

Six Sigma is a massively destructive force due to its sheer nonsense. I was a hard working researcher... laid off... not Chinese enough. (Diversity, and China worship, combine with Six Sigma to give the labs a focus on anything but science). Science is absoutely the last thing going on at LRL. There is MASSIVE, MASSIVE nonsense driven by a highly disfunctional PM process.

I work for the competition now. We think about our work all day. It's very refreshing.

Obviously you were not worthy enough to represent the Lilly brand. Having you move to the competition gives us the competitive advantage. We'll put our Chinese scientists up against your soft, overweight americans any day.

 

[Anonymous]

Obviously you were not worthy enough to represent the Lilly brand. Having you move to the competition gives us the competitive advantage. We'll put our Chinese scientists up against your soft, overweight americans any day.

It is true. The Chinese invented polio vaccine, penicillin, viagra, cialis. The mail order pharmacy websites all say so. It must be true.

 

[Anonymous]

Once in Neuroscience there were pharmacologists and biochemists of note (Fuller, Wong, Cohen, Schoepp, Pullar, Phebus, Nelson) but retirements, resignations and none replacement has effected the ability of Neuroscience to perform. The new VP needs to make key pharmacology appointments, rationalise the portfolio by disease not target, focus quickly, see the job through and success will follow. Most of the the tools are in place to make a go of Neuroscience, committed leadership is the only element missing.

 

[Anonymous]

Once in Neuroscience there were pharmacologists and biochemists of note (Fuller, Wong, Cohen, Schoepp, Pullar, Phebus, Nelson) but retirements, resignations and none replacement has effected the ability of Neuroscience to perform. The new VP needs to make key pharmacology appointments, rationalise the portfolio by disease not target, focus quickly, see the job through and success will follow. Most of the the tools are in place to make a go of Neuroscience, committed leadership is the only element missing.

It's even sadder when you consider some in that enumerated list were forced out, in essence. Marlene, on the other hand, is living it up in The Bahamas with Jerry....

By the way, Neuroscience at lillie is dead.

 

[Anonymous]

Six Sigma is over elsewhere. It's more appropriate in manufacturing electronic goods, where tight controls at each step of the supply chain result in robust equipment.

On the research side, there is simply no substitute for brilliance. All of the brightest people have either fired Lilly, or done themselves in through sheer honesty. Go figure.

My advice: If in fact you have options, forget the salary and go somewhere you are happy.

Yes, I think you're right. I'm getting the feeling that I should find a smaller pharma company because I just like focussing on the science. The place I'm at is one of the larger ones (not Pfizer or GSK) and I think our management was worried about patent expirations and so they brought in management from other companies like Lilly. They're bright people but I don't think it's going to solve our problems and may actually be a distraction. I think some amount of process improvement is good but sometimes it's feeling like we're focussed more on processes and do not have our total focus on drug discovery.

 

[Anonymous]

You describe LRL exactly right. You don't do anything until you consider how it will help your PM. This seems like a good idea right...? your PM reflects worthwhile goals. But that's not how it works on the ground. The idea of 'process' replaces progress. It actually substitutes itself in by pushng-out a proper idea of progress. And it's a self perpetuating problem. Because the whole PM system is itself, a slave to process.

Six Sigma is a disease that's gong to be very hard to get rid of. Like any disease... self perpetuation is job 1.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think you're right. I'm getting the feeling that I should find a smaller pharma company because I just like focussing on the science. The place I'm at is one of the larger ones (not Pfizer or GSK) and I think our management was worried about patent expirations and so they brought in management from other companies like Lilly. They're bright people but I don't think it's going to solve our problems and may actually be a distraction. I think some amount of process improvement is good but sometimes it's feeling like we're focussed more on processes and do not have our total focus on drug discovery.

So I assume that you are the original poster. A couple places where former LRL leaders have gone is Merck and Amgen, so maybe you work at one of those?

Bringing in outside management, as Lilly itself has done, is not the answer. It is analogous to exchanging one group of mainstream Republicrat politicians for another set. Throwing out the bums does no good if the incoming bums have the same (or an alternate and equally flawed) mentality. Furthermore, the system, whether in politics or a sclerotic corporate bureaucracy, generally will overwhelm a well-intentioned newcomer.

 

[Anonymous]

You describe LRL exactly right. You don't do anything until you consider how it will help your PM. This seems like a good idea right...? your PM reflects worthwhile goals. But that's not how it works on the ground. The idea of 'process' replaces progress. It actually substitutes itself in by pushng-out a proper idea of progress. And it's a self perpetuating problem. Because the whole PM system is itself, a slave to process.

Six Sigma is a disease that's gong to be very hard to get rid of. Like any disease... self perpetuation is job 1.

A company with Six Sigma is like a dog covered with engorged ticks. Eventually, the ticks will fall off, but the dog is so weakend that it dies.

Lilly is a dying dog. Call the vet.

 

[Anonymous]

A company with Six Sigma is like a dog covered with engorged ticks. Eventually, the ticks will fall off, but the dog is so weakend that it dies.

Lilly is a dying dog. Call the vet.

Why call the vet when you are the tick? A very swollen tick at that. $$JL$$

 

[Anonymous]

Why call the vet when you are the tick? A very swollen tick at that. $$JL$$

You call the vet to perform euthanasia on the dog and put it out of it's misery.

The very swollen tick will crawl around to find another dog. Many from Lilly senior management have already done that.

 

[Anonymous]

So I assume that you are the original poster. A couple places where former LRL leaders have gone is Merck and Amgen, so maybe you work at one of those?

Bringing in outside management, as Lilly itself has done, is not the answer. It is analogous to exchanging one group of mainstream Republicrat politicians for another set. Throwing out the bums does no good if the incoming bums have the same (or an alternate and equally flawed) mentality. Furthermore, the system, whether in politics or a sclerotic corporate bureaucracy, generally will overwhelm a well-intentioned newcomer.

Yes.

 

[Anonymous]

Women love successful scientists. I cannot begin to tell you how great it is... and Lilly paying me for this... ...it's just too good to be true. Thanks to John and Gus and the other mentors, sure we've had some failures, but thanks to my A plus GPA I have been skating through a free ride for many years without a single success to be blamed for... .... like they say, no good deed will go unpunished, so why succeed when you are told from the beginning that you are successful .... ta ta ... I hear a beckoning call grrrr