The Wall Street Journal has a commentary piece from Sidney Taurel, chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, on a recent flare-up over a drug candidate in clinical trials. The heart-attack drug, prasugrel, was in two trials that were halted pending review of a few cases of adverse effects. Taurel says the media coverage that followed this not only got the story wrong, but resulted in cutting Lilly's market cap by "about $6 billion."
Whether you believe it's a) never fun or b) always fun to watch people squirm, Taurel's op-ed piece is an interesting read. While he blames the media for public response to what happened, he does acknowledge that the pharma industry has lessons to learn from this experience.