Let's Hear It for the Gloom and Doom Department

The drama continues over Pfizer's deal for Wyeth. This Review & Outlook opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal doesn't mince words about the situation, starting off with this: "Emergency is too strong a word for Pfizer's $68 billion agreement to buy Wyeth, but not by much. The deal shows the afflictions that beset the larger American pharmaceutical industry, which ought to concern anyone who cares about U.S. medical innovation." And just in case you thought there might be good news down the line, the column goes on to warn about political stumbling blocks within FDA, and refers to Pfizer's CEO as "a lawyer who came to the drug giant from McDonald's in 2006 and has been laying off scientific staff all over the place."