* * INSIGHT * * *

Enron - A lesson for Lyophilization

by

Thomas A. Jennings, Ph.D.

On September 11, 2002 the United States experienced a disaster unparalleled in our history. The impact of that disaster is still being felt and all one can say is things will never be the same again. While the country was trying to recover it was hit with yet another blow that was not perpetrated from those outside the country but from within the country. It was the sudden and unexpected collapse of a giant energy company known as Enron. While the collapse of Enron in itself did not cause the dramatic loss of life that was experienced during September 11th, nonetheless, it affected the lives of countless number of individuals, and most sadly, the very employees in the company who had invested their financial future of that company only to see it disappear almost overnight.

I do not know enough about the collapse of Enron to determine if any illegalities were involved. But there are some facts that have been made public. Perhaps the most disturbing, at least to me, is that a well respected and trusted accounting firm was involved. This firm appears to have known of the questionable accounting practices that were being conducted by Enron and either condoned or ignored the warning signs that such practices could bring down this giant energy company. If any general statement can be said, this was at a minimum poor upper management that not only caused financial harm to so many innocent people but also took from them their livelihood - their very employment.

Now you may wonder how the disaster of the collapse of Enron would have any bearing with lyophilization. After all, if there is any blame to be placed it would be directed at the upper management of the company and not to those who worked at a lower echelon. Certainly it would be a surprise to many people to see the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company at the controls of a freeze-dryer. That is precisely why I thought it necessary to write this INSIGHT. For with lyophilization the upper management of the company may not know if the well being of the company could be in any way jeopardized by something related to the lyophilization process. In this case it is upper management that may not be aware of what is occurring at the lower levels. Therefore, it will be the objective of this INSIGHT to point out some key areas in the lyophilization of products where the Enron syndrome may be applicable.

Volume 5 Number 3                                                                            March 2002

4 Pages          3 References           0 Figures

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