Yesterday at the US Chamber of Commerce, Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter called on policy makers to encourage innovation that will cure the nation’s
healthcare woes: “I’m not blaming policy makers, but they need to foster an environment where innovation is possible, and let companies succeed or fail in the marketplace.” John says Eli Lilly, the Indiana-based $18.6 billion pharmaceutical giant, is throwing out its model of vertical integration from the lab to the pharmacy. “We’re now in an integrated world R&D network to tap innovation that will help cut costs and shorten the 10 to 12 year paradigm it takes a drug to get to market,” he says. John says without innovation, we’re defenseless against diseases like diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, and threats in less developed countries will get worse. “We’re at a risk that quality of life may even go backwards.” The patent system, he adds, needs to be better used to protect companies and provide bigger incentives for investors: “Even if a drug gets to market, it’s not guaranteed to pay for itself. US Rep Chris Van Hollen, second from left, served as honorary chair at yesterday’s Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce GovConNet Congressional Procurement Forum at Universities at Shady Grove. Chris is joined by MoCo Department of Economic Development Director Steve Silverman, University Vice Chancellor Dr. Stewart Edelstein, and AEPLOG Chairman Dr. James Whang. Thanks Michael G. Stewart for the pic. Here are the brains behind the event: Chamber EVP Barbara Ashe, CEO Gigi Godwin, and Mountaintop Marketing president Michael Bowlds, who might be Federal IT’s best dressed man. The annual conference shows off Maryland’s robust government contractors (i.e. they’re more than just Lockheed.) “Everything we do is geared to getting more wins for our companies,” Gigi says.
The always engaging Rob Burton of Venable with the gang from Clark Construction: Kwaku Gyabaah, Didi Utuk, Wes Smith, Diane Hartley, and Claudia Miller. The real estate crowd already knows Clark, considering they’re one of the biggest firms in the area, building Nationals Park and FedEx Field. They also do gov’t work, such as the Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center.