Today in Globe Business
School's out, but factoids are in
As a trivia question, it would go like this: “What profession is shared by a majority of the trivia night hosts in Central Massachusetts?’’
The answer: teacher.
But they would never put that question before the Tuesday night trivia crowd at the Old Timer Restaurant in Clinton. It’s too easy.
After all, the host one recent evening, Joel Bates, is an assistant principal at Florence Sawyer School in nearby Bolton; the scorekeeper, Steve Grant, works for him as a second-grade teacher. At least a half-dozen other teachers were in the standing-room-only crowd.
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Lexington drug maker Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc. said yesterday it has won approval for an iron replacement therapy with the potential to be its first blockbuster drug.
The company said the Food and Drug Administration granted long-delayed approval to market its Feraheme injection for intravenous use in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adults with chronic kidney disease. The FDA has approved fewer than two dozen new drugs annually in recent years.
Brian J.G. Pereira, president and chief executive of Amag, said in an interview that the approval represents the biggest milestone in the company’s 28-year history. It has produced and stockpiled the therapy in anticipation of the FDA’s decision.
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Haldeman retiring as chairman of Putnam
Charles E. “Ed’’ Haldeman came to Boston seven years ago to rebuild Putnam Investments’ reputation as a venerable money manager after its mutual funds plummeted when the tech bubble burst.
He will now be leaving Putnam without fulfilling that goal, as the Boston firm said yesterday Haldeman is retiring as chairman of its investment arm, while his successor, chief executive Robert Reynolds, solidifies his control over the direction of Putnam.
“Bob Reynolds is doing a great job as CEO,’’ Haldeman said in a statement. “This is a good time for me to advance to the next stage of my career.’’ Putnam said he was traveling yesterday and unavailable for additional comment.
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Harvard program targets diversity at highest levels
Ursula M. Burns takes over as chief executive of Xerox Corp. today, making her the first African-American woman to head a Standard & Poor’s 100 company. Harvard Business School professor David A. Thomas is impressed by Burns’s ascension. But not that much.
“When you consider all the women of color that went into the pipeline for these jobs 25 or 30 years ago, having just one rise to the top means we have a long way to go,’’ said Thomas, who is also the business school’s faculty chair.
Last week, Thomas and his colleagues at Harvard kicked off Next Generation Executive, a program aimed at improving that track record in corporate America. Nearly 30 minority executives from around the country were invited to be part of the first class and spend a week attending intensive sessions at the school aimed at helping them advance even higher. The sessions will be followed up with six months of coaching and culminate with a retreat in Naples, Fla., in December.
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With new firm, ex-AG Reilly goes back to trial roots
Former attorney general Thomas Reilly is leaving the international law firm Greenberg Traurig to join a smaller Boston-based boutique where he will return to his roots as a trial lawyer.
Reilly, 66, today will join the firm Cooley Manion Jones LLP, a 50-lawyer firm that specializes in litigation and represents victims of the Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island.
“I’ve been a trial lawyer pretty much all of my career and I miss it,’’ said Reilly, whose work at Greenberg involved advising clients on government investigations, civil litigation, and business regulation. “I can’t be in court all the time, but I hope to be back trying cases and using the skills I acquired over all these years.’’
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Agency focused on cutting toxics loses funding
It is a miniscule slice of the state’s $27 billion budget - less than $1.5 million to fund an obscure environmental agency at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
But the Toxics Use Reduction Institute is part of a state-mandated program that has reduced the use of hazardous substances by local manufacturers 41 percent in its 20-year history. That funding has been eliminated, and the institute’s 18 employees do not know where their next paycheck will come from - or whether it will come at all.
The institute is just one casualty of a fiscal crisis that has ravaged Massachusetts, forcing the state to raise taxes and cut funding. About two weeks ago, the Legislature’s budget conference committee decided to eliminate the Senate and House line items that would have provided the institute with $1.2 million to $1.4 million for fiscal 2010, leaving it to UMass-Lowell to fund the agency. The committee did not specify how much it expected the school to provide, but the question is urgent. The institute’s fiscal year ended yesterday, and it has no funding, effective today.
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