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Zenzirouj posted:I assume you can't say where that was? Because holy poo poo dude PFE.
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Oct 26, 2011 23:30
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Sundae posted:This is a copy/paste from the TPS thread, which has somehow come back to life over in PYF. Pharma came up and a few people were asking questions, so I posted a story from back at my old place... This is just so hosed up. Is there any other major business that acts this way? Also, why isn't *real* failure punished?
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Oct 27, 2011 03:22
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Solkanar512 posted:This is just so hosed up. Is there any other major business that acts this way? Also, why isn't *real* failure punished? All of them. It's too much trouble
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Oct 27, 2011 03:53
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My company has rolled out Yammer! It's some sort of corporate twitter-like program that's supposed to help with collaboration. Except it's hosted on external servers, so we can't post anything important on there. I'm really not sure what it's point is exactly, but I am learning that people outside of R&D apparently do gently caress all with their day (and are really obsessed with their iphones). Someone took a photo of a fortune cookie and uploaded it!
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Oct 28, 2011 00:11
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It goes without saying, but never post anything on that, it's a trap.
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Oct 28, 2011 01:45
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Appachai posted:It goes without saying, but never post anything on that, it's a trap. Yup. Been there, seen that. Total trap.
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Oct 28, 2011 14:09
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I had a guy from the core lab (hematoloy/chemistry) come in and say that a CSF he had done a diff on (Wright/Giemsa stain) showed that there were many gram negative rods. He had looked up the gram stain that I read and I had reported no organisms. So I looked at the slide again, and there was still only few wbc's and no organisms. He looks at the slide and says that there's ONE gram negative rod, but that his stain must be contaminated. I hate ridiculous poo poo like that. I read 3500 direct smears last year, and there's never a slide with only one single organism. It just doesn't happen, even in CSF. Also, he was looking at a wright stain vs my gram stain, which is specifically for MICROBIOLOGY. I remade the slide, but there was still no GNRs. The other technologist looked at both slides and said he didn't see any GNRs, but said that there was a single questionable dot (which he said could be a gram positive cocci) on one of the slides. Jesus. Then he tells me that I needed to write in my report that I repeated the slide and saw nothing, and that I re-checked the original smear and saw one questionable dot. I point blank told him "no", that I didn't see anything therefore I am not reporting that. He just stared at me like I was insane. 
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Oct 29, 2011 07:29
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Even though I don't work there anymore, I think I finally have Sundae beat. 1. The lab has decided to start using mice for testing. Without the appropriate measures or controls that normally go along with testing. No logs, no proper care, nothing. This resulted in two male mice to be injected with PCP (they're testing drug detection tools) to be left in the same cage overnight. Yes kids, PCP. I don't think I need to go into detail as to what was found the next morning. 2. So the H1-B visa holders who work as researchers have been started on an incentive plan. They get a bonus if and only if they create something that the owner can patent. This has led to at least one researcher injecting herself with an untested drug on a regular basis to show how safe it is for humans. No, it hasn't been tested anywhere else, that would waste time. But apparently lots of folks knew about it. Time to shut this fucker down if you ask me. Who would I go to outside of the local papers? A friend of mine has suggested the FDA for the mice issue, but what about allowing employees to become test subjects? Isn't this poo poo regulated? Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Nov 2, 2011 |
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Nov 2, 2011 18:12
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Solkanar512 posted:
I'm pretty sure that he's not going to get his bonus, because he probably violated several laws regarding human subjects. At the very minimum he violated several lab safety laws. How is he going to collect his bonus when they shut the lab down?
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Nov 2, 2011 18:44
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quote:Mice on PCP... researchers self-injecting untested drugs... Holy... loving... poo poo. Yep, you've got me beat by a long shot. Mine were mostly rear end in a top hat business issues. These are "shut the fuckers down" issues.
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Nov 2, 2011 18:44
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Is that an academic lab or something? I have never worked in one but every single coworker who has has said they are all complete poo poo when it comes to following procedures. For my lovely work experience: The first company I worked for was like 10 people, and I am pretty sure it was just to get investor money without actually trying to do any worthwhile research since half the company were executives all related to the CEO, and the phones would occationally get shut off because the bill was not paid while all the executives including their 16 year old children would have $100,000+ cars. I am pretty sure the CEOs 16 year old son who interning was getting paid more than every non-executive researcher there too. The CEO would try and impress the "secretary" (just some lady the CEO was banging who did absolutely nothing) by going in and trying to inject mice and they would all die or be paralyzed, which is odd because they were not injections that should have been anywhere near the spine. There would be studies where food would be removed overnight (for legitimate reasons), and then they would forget to put it back in and the next monday there would be one living mouse and a bunch of eaten mice. That place sucked, it was pretty much a constant rotation of people straight out of college getting their foot in the door and then finding a better job. I think the average time someone was there was a few months. I was there for 4 months 6 years ago and it feels like I was there just as long as my last job that I was at for 5 years. I am forgetting tons of examples, but I have never seen a place with such blatant corruption. I wish there was a happy ending and they are now homeless or something but I believe all of the executives got pretty rich and went back to their home country with board level positions at some large company.
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Nov 2, 2011 20:38
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You are receiving this broadcast as a dream...We are transmitting from the year one nine... nine nine ...You are receiving this broadcast in order t
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Solkanar512 posted:Time to shut this fucker down if you ask me. Who would I go to outside of the local papers? A friend of mine has suggested the FDA for the mice issue, but what about allowing employees to become test subjects? Isn't this poo poo regulated? It's all regulated by the FDA, so I guess that's where you'd want to start with a report. Not 100% sure, but maybe call the Office of Compliance? http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/ucm081992.htm
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Nov 2, 2011 22:14
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Pain of Mind posted:Is that an academic lab or something? I have never worked in one but every single coworker who has has said they are all complete poo poo when it comes to following procedures. This is a private food safety and research laboratory. My source tells me that the owner knew about the self injecting for a long time, but obviously didn't do anything about it. So yeah, if you folks have any connections or experience making reports like these, feel free to post in thread or PM me. I'll be more than happy to post about how this "project" is going along, as much as I'm able. It should be entertaining! ^^^^ And thanks for the link, I'll try it out in a few days when I have the time. Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Nov 3, 2011 |
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Nov 3, 2011 00:31
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Solkanar512 posted:Time to shut this fucker down if you ask me. Who would I go to outside of the local papers? A friend of mine has suggested the FDA for the mice issue, but what about allowing employees to become test subjects? Isn't this poo poo regulated? For the mouse issue you can go for the trifecta and report them to the FDA, OLAW, and probably AAALAC (just in case they actually have any by the book animal work going on).
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Nov 3, 2011 02:08
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You could also try OSHA, they're the other agency I hear a lot about at work with regard to safety. I'd just try reporting them everywhere.
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Nov 3, 2011 02:46
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Report them to PETA
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Nov 3, 2011 03:17
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Solkanar512 posted:Holy poo poo. Short answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrTsuvykUZk Seriously, report these people immediately. Hell, PM me this labs info and I can ask my institutions IACUC how to contact the proper authorities/who best to squeal to. Allowing something like this to go on makes legitimate use of animals in a laboratory setting look bad, and additionally sounds awful for the animals involved.
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Nov 3, 2011 07:51
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Appachai posted:Report them to PETA Or if you really want results -- ALF.
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Nov 4, 2011 02:10
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I know in the past I've given you advice in confidence but after hearing the mice on PCP story I'm voting "all of the above"
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Nov 4, 2011 03:36
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After 6 months of uncertainty and unemployment since I graduated with my bachelor's in chemistry, I found a job making orgo for a small company near Columbus, OH. So psyched for the near future 
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Nov 9, 2011 06:01
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Congratulations. 
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Nov 9, 2011 06:10
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zilong posted:After 6 months of uncertainty and unemployment since I graduated with my bachelor's in chemistry, I found a job making orgo for a small company near Columbus, OH. So psyched for the near future Welcome to hell 
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Nov 9, 2011 06:28
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Bastard Tetris posted:I know in the past I've given you advice in confidence but after hearing the mice on PCP story I'm voting "all of the above" Well right now *a very famous government agency* has been poking their nose around so it's a start. I'll gather info and make a report later in the next few weeks if I can gather enough substantial material. Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Nov 9, 2011 |
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Nov 9, 2011 07:08
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I'm interviewing with a major company based out of Midland MI right now. The position is a biz-side suit & tie position, interfacing with R&D and QA. I just used interface as a verb. I am becoming the villain. Someone save me. 
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Nov 9, 2011 17:58
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Sundae posted:I'm interviewing with a major company based out of Midland MI right now. The position is a biz-side suit & tie position, interfacing with R&D and QA. We can't save you but your paycheck and career stability will. I heard that once you move out of the technical side, it's more stable and you get paid better.
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Nov 9, 2011 18:06
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I have a peculiar hatred of "interface" as a verb. I think it might be because "liaise" is a word of such obvious superiority which should be used more often.
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Nov 9, 2011 18:06
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Out of curiosity, do any of you know much about working in the Boston area? I'm not sure why, but it's a place I've always thought of when I consider places to eventually move to.
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Nov 9, 2011 22:17
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Vladimir Putin posted:We can't save you but your paycheck and career stability will. I heard that once you move out of the technical side, it's more stable and you get paid better. Having made the move myself, the pay isn't much better, but the hours are more regular, and it's much easier to move around to other positions that you find interesting. Being able to work 8-5, and not having to cover double shifts for two weeks straight is pretty awesome.
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Nov 9, 2011 23:43
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Zenzirouj posted:Out of curiosity, do any of you know much about working in the Boston area? I'm not sure why, but it's a place I've always thought of when I consider places to eventually move to. Boston is the largest biotech hub in the US, so it's a good choice if you want to work in a lab. Also there are a crazy number of universities and labs.
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Nov 10, 2011 01:26
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Appachai posted:Boston is the largest biotech hub in the US, so it's a good choice if you want to work in a lab. Also there are a crazy number of universities and labs. from my perspective (entry level BS), the most postings are Boston, NYC and the bay area. Sundae I don't know if you get C&EN, but there was an article in the Oct. 31 edition about Indian companies taking over R&D for big pharma, and how even the dude who discovered loving Lipitor got laid off in 2007: http://cen.acs.org/articles/89/i44/Bruce-Roth-Looks-Ahead.html
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Nov 10, 2011 01:38
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majestic12 posted:from my perspective (entry level BS), the most postings are Boston, NYC and the bay area. Traditionally for pharma/life science it has been Boston, SF, and San Diego. I think the next largest is research triangle, but I've read a couple articles that NY is starting to get in on things.
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Nov 10, 2011 02:06
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majestic12 posted:Sundae I don't know if you get C&EN, but there was an article in the Oct. 31 edition about Indian companies taking over R&D for big pharma, and how even the dude who discovered loving Lipitor got laid off in 2007: http://cen.acs.org/articles/89/i44/Bruce-Roth-Looks-Ahead.html I don't get C&EN (in spite of what I do, I'm actually bio!  ), but that basic gist has been going around everything for a while. AAPS magazine had something about it last year. (Also - I think Roth ended up at Genentech as a director, didn't he?) EDIT: Yup - just checked Wikipedia. Good for him, though I hear things aren't as nice there now that Roche bought them. No confirmation on that from anyone, though. The big landing spots for former employees at my old place are Boehringer and Vertex.We will never be able to compete with India, even as bad of work as they tend to generate. (See earlier in this thread for Solkanar having an aneurysm when I describe a set of batch records I got back from a contract manufacturer.) The problem I've seen in cost comparisons, at least at my old place, is that they can screw it up nine times for the cost of doing it correctly the first time in the USA.  Appachai posted:...but I've read a couple articles that NY is starting to get in on things. I keep hearing about these mythical NY-area companies, but other than Forest Labs on LI and CSHL (both out on Long Island), damned if I'm seeing any of them. New Jersey's got a lot of the chem-side pharma, but all the NY pharma stuff I've seen is way upstate. Syracuse has BMS (for now), and a lot of little startups pop up in the Ithaca area. My mother keeps sending me news clippings from the NY Post talking about all the new biotech jobs coming into NY. None of them are ever hiring when I visit their websites, of course.
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Nov 10, 2011 03:49
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Yeah, it mentioned he's VP of discovery. I just read this part and thought of you quote:When it came time to feed the pharmaceutical beast, few disease areas or biological targets had the blockbuster taste that would sate its appetite, so many small-scale projects languished. Firms turned to mergers and acquisitions to fill pipelines. The shifts have cost drugmakers dearly, Roth says, both in the loss of thousands of talented scientists who’ve been laid off and in the lost diversity of approaches to tackling problems. “We’ve eaten our own here,” he laments. “Since we got to the 21st century it’s been all about layoffs and cutbacks and mergers and offshoring.”
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Nov 10, 2011 03:55
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Appachai posted:Boston is the largest biotech hub in the US, so it's a good choice if you want to work in a lab. Also there are a crazy number of universities and labs. Don't work for a university lab unless you want to be poor and plan to get a PhD. Edit: And bitter. polyfractal fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Nov 11, 2011 |
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Nov 11, 2011 02:05
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polyfractal posted:Don't work for a university lab unless you want to be poor and plan to get a PhD. Nothing wrong with being a poor PhD student. The last three years have been amongst the funnest of my life. It's just this year that has sucked.
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Nov 11, 2011 16:13
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Scientastic posted:Nothing wrong with being a poor PhD student. The last three years have been amongst the funnest of my life. It's just this year that has sucked. Just wait, it gets worse.
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Nov 11, 2011 23:01
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Hopefully I'm not breaking into anything exclusive but if so feel free to tell me off. I'm a field service rep for an equipment manufacturer and am interested in what your service reps do that you love and hate. I've been at it for coming on 9 years now (gently caress me!) but I can sympathize with what folks are chatting about here. Getting into so many labs I've seen the entire range of "how are these people still alive?" to "God drat that's a slick setup." I don't understand much of the chemistry as my background is electronics but from the service side I can tell you that running straight urine through a ICP-MS is going to contaminate your vacuum chamber (and no, repair of that "failure" is not covered by your service contract) and yes, you need to have venting to run an ICP-OES in any room and having an open window doesn't count. Been having a real chuckle reading through this thread. It's amazing how the business world and science world can combine to create something so truly ridiculous.
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Nov 13, 2011 18:48
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TouchyMcFeely posted:Hopefully I'm not breaking into anything exclusive but if so feel free to tell me off. I'm a field service rep for an equipment manufacturer and am interested in what your service reps do that you love and hate. The biggest thing I like in a field service rep is decent communication around scheduling visits. Sometimes it's not possible, of course, especially if you're on the road 24/7 for a stint, but if you or your manager could actually confirm that you will indeed be arriving on (date) and that you will hopefully be there around (time), that's awesome. I can schedule you, I don't have to fight with security, and I can plan my work and the work of other people who might need the relevant piece of equipment. The counter-example I'd use is that a certain tablet press manufacturer likes to not reply to your service requests, and then suddenly I get an angry call from security two weeks later saying that there's a technician from company X waiting here and why didn't I register them in the system and oh for the love of god the press is still dirty and I have four meetings and oh god oh god. (Also, I'll go with the assumption that the tech knows what he's doing. Sometimes they don't, but that's not a preference so much as someone who shouldn't be a tech or whose manager should be fired for inadequate training.) Communication is the biggie for me. Even something as simple as "Yep, got your message! Sent it to accounts to get an invoice printed!" is more than I'm used to seeing from reps. About the only really good one for responses I've dealt with was Gerteis. Very professional. It is incredibly helpful to know which side of the proverbial court the ball is on.
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Nov 13, 2011 19:28
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Yeah, I can see where that would be irritating. The company I work for has us make our own schedules depending on work load and it's policy to contact the customer within 4 hours of them opening a call. What about documentation regarding the services/repairs performed? With the exception of validation protocols a lot of customers will really want a copy of my report and then on my next visit I'll find it shoved in a drawer underneath a bunch of other long forgotten items.
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Nov 14, 2011 13:35
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I'm guilty of the same thing with regard to full reports, but I don't think there's a good answer to that. Everyone is going to want the report, because it'll be just our luck that we'll get an expense audit from accounting after we bring you in. If we don't have that report, we're hosed. If we don't get audited (or need to give an accountability update to someone in management), we've just wasted your time and paper. I suppose that best-case would be a PDF rendition of the forms so that nobody is wasting stuff, but the report is still needed even if it is never needed, as silly as that sounds. I DO like getting an itemized list of repairs performed / repairs still needing to be made, though. I can use that as justification for why my equipment's downtime has been so high lately, why I need a bigger repair budget, and why I've not been in the lab actually doing work lately. (Because I've been dealing with tech reps for the last three weeks across five lab buildings.) The summary repair docs definitely DO get used. That being said, I'm in a slightly different field from what it sounds like your equipment works with. I don't ever touch analytical equipment, MS, etc. Validation data is less important to me than having a calibration stamp and functioning mechanical parts.
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Nov 14, 2011 15:44
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