The Maryland Tech Council’s Member Point of View blog gives members a new way to share their insights on innovation, markets, and the economy.
This week’s guest blog comes from Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, and explores whether the conflict in Ukraine impacts the US dollar’s future as the world’s reserve currency.
Starting a business from the ground up is a daunting task. There are a multitude of different aspects to starting up a business that one needs to pay attention to. Just one serious fault in the business plan could destroy the entire strategy. Millions have succeeded in creating their businesses, yet millions have failed. Businesses fail when they do not make any money. They make money from the products or services they sell. So, in turn, businesses need to find out what they are selling and what price point to set their product in order to maximize profits. It is all about positioning oneself in the new market one is entering. The first couple quarters of the business are the most vital. They bring immediate light as to where the faults and flaws are in a company. Businesses need a strong foundation of a reliable market and profit in order to succeed and appeal to investors. The key to creating a solid foundation for a business is to possess human capital. In other words, the success of the company depends on the people in it. The people in the startup process of the company make the decisions on things like price points. Therefore, it is vital to have the right people involved in a business.
The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points yesterday, to a range between 1.50% and 1.75%, and signaled stronger inflation-fighting measures ahead. We think that policy path will eventually cool inflation—but at a greater cost to economic growth than the Fed expects. And financial markets will likely stay volatile for a while.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is named one of the top 10 global health threats facing humanity by the World Health Organization and was associated with nearly 5 million deaths in 2019. With a challenge of this magnitude, it’s critical to have visibility in the supply chain for antimicrobials—medicines used to prevent and treat infections that include antibiotics (also known as antibacterials), antifungals, antivirals and antiparasitics.
The Longest Day of the year, or summer solstice, happens on June 21, 2022. For this reason, the Alzheimer’s Association chose this day to raise awareness across the world about fighting the darkness of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) through fundraising.
There is no denying that the Coronavirus pandemic will continue to reverberate for many years to come. However, one area that has positively progressed considering COVID-19 is the way we work and where we work. There are more remote workers than ever before, and many companies are looking to close or reduce their office spaces to support a better work-life balance. Typically, remote working has been an option for gig workers whose roles are more freelance based or who work in isolation, but as we offer this option to more teams across the US, isn’t it time to do the same for our leaders too?
The ‘Great Resignation’ is proving to be a big challenge for life science businesses all over the globe, and with more roles vacant than ever before, candidates really do have the pick of the bunch! Rather than trying to wow potential employees with packages that may or may not impress, why not show them what you are about and where you are heading so that they feel motivated and inspired at the thought of taking the journey with you?
Innovation is the key to grow any businesses to a significant scale. Many businesses have started with innovative ideas and grown rapidly by disrupting incumbents in their markets. However, as they grow they have instituted management processes along the way which are designed for disciplined execution. They have unknowing migrated to a culture that values predictable outcomes rather than calculated risk taking. At some point, these companies start losing market share to the next innovators, and the cycle repeats. This innovation cycle is well described in the book “The Innovator’s Dilemma” by the late Harvard professor Chris Christensen. It is well understood by many business executives.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) recently announced the final guidance titled “Pre-Launch Activities Importation Requests (PLAIR)” (Final Guidance). The Final Guidance outlines FDA’s policy for the importation of unapproved finished dosage form drug products an applicant is preparing for a U.S. market launch based on anticipated approval of a pending new drug application (NDA), an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA), or a biologics licensing application regulated by FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The guidance describes the procedures for making such a request to FDA before final approval of the application and provides factors the Agency will consider in granting such requests. FDA offers the following procedural information in the Final Guidance: (1) what information should be submitted to FDA in a PLAIR; (2) when and how to submit a PLAIR; and (3) the circumstances under which the Agency intends to grant a PLAIR.
SYNAPS Dx (SDx) is pleased to present “Physicians’ Assessment of the Clinical Utility of a Novel Test to Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease (AD),” at the Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Annual Conference, May 15-18, 2022, in National Harbor, Maryland.