In The News

The War Over Lipitor

Katherine Eban May 16, 2011
A generic version of the world’s top-selling prescription drug – Lipitor – was anticipated this fall, and Katherine Eban, writing for Fortune, suggests that “Generic-drug companies are now feuding like greedy relatives at Lipitor's graveside.” Exclusive rights to sell drugs end 20 years after the patent application is filed. The first generic maker to file patent for a viable substitute – in...

Putting Poppies in the Gas Tank

Nicholas Schmidle March 1, 2011
The global demand for opium fuels poppy production in Afghanistan, which funds the Taliban. For years, the US military worked to eradicate poppy crops. But US veterans doing contract work in Afghanistan pointed out that poppies could be used for biofuel. The veterans drew on research from Tasmania, home to the world’s largest legal poppy fields, reports Michael Schmidle for the Atlantic, and...

Government Announces Reduction in Cost of ARVs

December 28, 2010
The South African government has negotiated with multinational pharmaceutical companies a plan to reduce prices of antiretroviral drugs by nearly half. The same 10 pharmaceutical firms that supply the medications will continue to do so, but with newly reduced prices, starting in January. Critics question the abrupt drop in price and whether refunds are warranted for previous high prices. With...

Cigarette Giants in Global Fight on Tighter Rules

Duff Wilson December 1, 2010
Around the world, giant tobacco companies are increasing spending on advertising and fighting public-health initiatives to regulate the production and sale of cigarettes. As cigarette consumption falls in the West, the multinationals challenge ad limits, health warnings, cigarette taxes and prohibitions on displays throughout the developed world and invest millions into advertising in Asia and...

Global “Chop Shops”: Slice, Dice and Outsource

Farok J. Contractor October 27, 2010
Manufacturing and IT firms slice their work into parts, much like the chop shops that collect old cars, breaking them down into parts for resale and higher profits. Mangers divide tasks, sending work to points of the globe where costs and skills are most efficient for each task at hand. Farok J. Contractor, professor of management and global business, analyzes trends underway in the once-...

Moscow Furious, Says US Not Pushing Drug War in Afghanistan

Fred Weir May 25, 2010
Perhaps better than anyone, veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan understand the challenges confronting NATO in its attempt to stabilize the region. But Russians express concern that more drugs from Afghanistan cross over their borders and those of former Soviet satellites. Russian authorities suggest that the drug trade is linked to terrorism and NATO could do more to control and destroy...

Globalization and Crime

John J. Metzler March 15, 2010
A new report from the UN concludes that the same forces that make globalization so appealing, such as unfettered travel and communications, are also providing a huge boost to narcotics traffickers, who take advantage of porous borders to ply their trade. This is particularly true in the European Union, where people can move freely within the EU's member states. In addition, drug traffickers...