Some on biotech council want Finneran to stay
A small contingent of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council appears to be rallying behind Thomas M. Finneran as council president, although it is unclear if the group has enough votes to sway the group's board of directors.
A block of voters from major drug companies, who represent a minority on the council's board, but contribute heavily to its budget, supports keeping Finneran because of his connections at the State House and with Massachusetts' congressional delegation, said a person close to one of the companies.
Finneran, who pleaded guilty to felony obstruction-of-justice charges Friday, stands to lose his $416,000 job as head of the state biotechnology lobby if the board votes to replace him.
Separately, he is in discussions with radio station WRKO to host a talk show.
The federal charges stemmed from Finneran's time as speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, when he was investigated for his involvement in a redistricting plan that triggered a lawsuit. After leaving the House and being hired by the council, Finneran was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. He pleaded guilty to the latter count last week in exchange for the perjury charges being dropped.
The debate over Finneran highlights a division in the state biotechnology industry. On one side stand a handful of large companies with products on the market and frequent business before Congress, which can influence drug regulation and pricing. On the other side are the hundreds of smaller companies, most without profits or approved products, which rely on the council for purchasing discounts, networking, and support for state-level issues such as zoning and research grants.
Executives of the smaller companies say that biotechnology values its reputation as a clean, research-driven industry, and are concerned that Finneran's felony could stain that image.
But large pharmaceutical companies, which need Congress to reauthorize key legislation on prescription-drug approvals this year, are concerned about alienating Finneran's friends in the Legislature and on Capitol Hill.
Of the 21 members on the council's board, four represent major pharmaceutical companies: Pfizer Inc., Novartis AG, Wyeth, and AstraZeneca. Representatives of those companies either could not be reached or would not comment on their votes last night. But a person close to one of the companies' board representatives said it was likely that three, and possibly all four, of the firms' representatives would support Finneran.
In addition to the four drug-company representatives on the council's board of directors, about a dozen members of the board -- a slim majority -- are drawn from the ranks of traditional Massachusetts biotech firms. The remaining members are lawyers, venture capitalists, and others who do not work for either biotechnology or large pharmaceutical firms.
Members of the council's board could not reached for comment last night.
Finneran's two-year tenure on the board has drawn praise from politicians and business leaders, who say he has raised the industry's profile at a time when increasing numbers of states and regions are competing to lure biotech research.
The board is scheduled to discuss Finneran's future in a conference call late this afternoon, although the matter may not be resolved until after further negotiations. A person close the board's discussions told the Globe on Friday that the group would probably ask Finneran to step down.
The planning has been complicated by the fact that some board members are in San Francisco, where the largest annual meeting of investors and biotech executives is taking place.
Stephen Heuser can be reached at sheuser@globe.com. 