Polaroid to fire 700
CAMBRIDGE – Polaroid Corp. has announced that it will eliminate between
600 and 700 jobs over the next year and a half, the result of
declining sales, the collapse of the Russian market and the cool
reception to some of its new products. The maker of instant cameras has
been unable to overcome the public’s preference for 35 mm. Cameras and
the one-day photo service that has become widespread. Despite the
reduced workforce, Polaroid will still employ about 9,000. In the wake
of that announcement, Sandy Posa, the company’s senior vice president
for worldwide marketing and new product development resigned for
“personal reasons.”
Ergo Science cuts work force after FDA
rejection
CHARLESTOWN – Ergo Science Corp. announced it was cutting its work force
of about 60 employees in half as the result of the Federal Drug
Administration’s rejection of its Ergoset type 2 diabetes and obesity
tablets, as well as Johnson & Johnson’s ending of a collaborative
agreement for the development of that drug. Ergoset was the core of
the seven-year-old company’s work based on 30 years of scientific
studies. Ergo Science said it was considering an appeal of the FDA
ruling and evaluating current research and development projects.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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Houghton Mifflin buys ‘Discovery Works’
BOSTON – Houghton Mifflin Co. has announced its agreement to buy
Discovery Works, a Pearson Education kindergarten through elementary
school market leading program. The purchase is subject to regulatory
agency review. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
Holmes Products buys Rival Co.
MILFORD – Holmes Products Corp., a manufacturer of fans and humidifiers
has agreed to purchase the Rival Co. of Missouri, known for its Crock-
Pot products and other kitchen equipment. Holmes, owned by Berkshire
Partners LLC, a Boston investment firm, said it would pay $127.8 million
plus assuming Rival’s debt in acquiring the larger company. Holmes,
which employs about 170 people in Massachusetts, has good distributors
on the East and West coasts, while Rival is strongest in the central
part of the country.
Brooktrout buys Lucent computer
telephone business
NEEDHAM – Brooktrout Technology Inc. has purchased Lucent Technologies
Inc.’s computer telephony products business for $29.4 million in cash.
The Lucent unit, based in Los Gatos, Calif., makes voice processing
hardware and software. Eric R. Giler, Brooktrout founder and president,
told the Boston Globe there would be no layoffs or firings of Lucent’s
100 employees.
Repligen to supply product to Amersham
Pharmacia
NEEDHAM – Repligen Corp. has agreed to supply recombinant Protein A to
Amersham Pharmacia Biotech for 10 years. A Repligen spokesperson
predicted the arrangement would produce $10 million in revenue for the
company over that period.
Justice Department investigating Boston
Scientific
NATICK, Mass. — The Justice Department is investigating the clinical
trials related to a heart device that was marketed then recalled by
Boston Scientific Corp. On Oct. 8 Boston Scientific announced it was
recalling the “NIR On Ranger with Sox” system that is used to implant
heart stents. The company shipped about 36,000 of the devices and
estimated that 25,000 have been used. The same day, the Food and Drug
Administration warned more than 200 hospitals to immediately stop using
the new system after reports that 26 patients were injured and one died.
When heart disease patients have their cholesterol-clogged arteries
cleared out, they often also have stents implanted to help prevent
arteries from reclogging. The stents are like miniature scaffolding
carried into the artery on a balloon that, when inflated, pushes open
the stent against artery walls. The balloon then is deflated and pulled
out, leaving the stent snugly in place. But with the new Sox device, the
balloon can leak during surgery, meaning the ste
nt doesn’t get pushed firmly into place and can float dangerously
through the bloodstream, clogging narrow arteries or cutting blood
vessel walls. If doctors can’t quickly pull out the partially opened
stent, patients may need surgery to retrieve it.
Nothing academic about these salaries
BOSTON — Harvard University’s dazzling roster of academics includes
some of the most prominent minds in their fields. But it’s not the
academic stars who are pulling down the big bucks. Last year, the
earnings of the six top executives at the university’s investment arm
exceeded $45 million. Jonathan Jacobson, who left Harvard Management Co.
in July to start his own firm, earned $10.2 million during the fiscal
year ending June 30. Harvard Management, owned by the school, oversees
management of over $16 billion — mostly the university’s endowment —
in nine different asset classes. The money grew at an annualized rate of
24.1 percent in the three years ending June 30, 1998, with the part
managed by Jacobson earning 42.7 percent a year. In contrast, the
market’s main barometer, the Dow Jones industrial average, grew 25
percent a year over the same three years. Other big earners include
David Mittelman, $9.8 million; Philip Gross, $9.7 million; Robert
Atchinson, $7.9 million; and Maurice Samuels, $6 million. Harvard
Management President Jack Meyer earned $1.8 million.
