Englishman Geoffrey Allan is betting the future of the company he founded, Richmond-based Insmed, Inc., on the proposition that the U.S. Congress will reform patent laws preventing competition in a class of drugs, biologics, created by the biotech industry. Insmed is best known for IPLEX, a drug used in the treatment of certain “orphan” diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people, but it is investing heavily as well in creating “follow-on biologics” -- generic versions --- of blockbuster drugs accounting for $10 billion in sales at today’s prices.

In an interview in the March/April issue of The American magazine, Allan outlines his bold strategy. Due to a loophole in the 1984 law overhauling the regulation of drugs in the United States, a class of drugs invented by the then-emerging biotech industry, known as biologics, was exempted from the 20-year limits on patent protection. When patent protections expire, competitors move into the market with cheaper generics, saving U.S. consumers untold billions of dollars. But the patent shield for biologics never ends.

“Biologic drugs now account for about $40 billion in U.S. sales,” says Allan. “Basically, there is no way that a generic manufacturer can come in when the patents have expired to copy these drugs and bring them to the market at a cheaper price. Consequently, these drugs cost the healthcare system a huge amount of money, and it has created a monopoly for the large biotechnology companies.”

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond resides in an dominating office tower on the James River that looms over downtown Richmond. The office is big, secretive and highly fortified against possible terrorist attack. I've always wondered, why would terrorists want to bomb the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond? What exactly goes on there that's so important? If we Richmonders don't know why it's worth bombing, how could a bunch of zealots in Afghanistan figure out the bank is a juicy target?

Obviously, the people in the bank itself know something we don't know. The federal reserve bankers play their cards pretty close to the chest, but they do reveal a bit about themselves in the 2007 Annual Report that has just been posted online.

While many observers characterize a proposed merger between Blockbuster Inc., and Circuit City Stores Inc., as a case of loser + loser = big loser, a Citi Investment Research analyst thinks that Blockbuster Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Circuit City Stores Inc. may be a good fit.

Blockbuster, whose video rental business is losing market share to pay per view, is aggressively pushing its $1 billion takeover bid for Circuit City, a national electrics retailer buckling under intense competition and weak consumer spending. Blockbuster sees synergies in a combined chain that sells electronic gadgets and rents movies and games.

Tony Wible of Citi Investment Research said the potential deal could provide Blockbuster with increased revenue and cost savings. He estimates the transaction could lift the value of Blockbuster's stock, trading recently under $3 per share, to nearly $11. Wrote Wible: "We believe it is key to realize that a Blockbuster-owned Circuit City will likely look very different than today as Blockbuster integrates Circuit City stores into its restructuring plans," he wrote in a client note, reports the Associated Press.

MeadWestvaco Corporation has boosted its presence in the South American chemical market through a joint venture with Chemserve, a South African chemical company. Under terms of the deal, MWV’s specialty chemicals unit will become equal partners in Chemserve’s existing Brazilian business unit, Resitec Industria Quimica Ltda.

The partnership combines MWV’s long-standing presence in Brazil and expertise in pine chemicals with the success of Chemserve’s oleochemicals business in South America. Resitec’s current products include emulsifiers used in the production of synthetic rubber for tires, resins for adhesives, and lubricants for machinery and metalworking. Through the joint venture, Resitec will expand its product offerings to serve pine chemicals markets within the region and to meet customers’ growing global needs.

 “This partnership represents an important step for two known market leaders as they grow their presence in Brazil, which now has one of the world’s largest economies,” said Ed Rose, vice president with MWV’s specialty chemicals group. “With this strategic move, we expand our footprint in the global pine chemicals marketplace by partnering with a strong Brazilian business.”

UPS Freight, a less-than-truckload carrier serving North American markets, continues to improve productivity. The company has reduced transit times this year on nearly 1,000 traffic routes connecting Southwestern and Southeastern metropolitan areas to points across the United States. Those improvements follow enhancements to more than 8,000 routes in 2007.

"UPS Freight is on a path to create a combination of reliability, technology and speed that no other competitor can match," says President Jack Holmes. "We are aggressively rolling out improvements in all areas of the business to keep pace with the evolving needs of our customers. This latest round of lane enhancements comes on the heels of a new on-time performance guarantee and freshly integrated shipping and visibility technology."

Similar network improvements, in a phased plan, will be made throughout other regions of the country later this year.

Last week I was a panelist at a conference in Chicago for corporate communication professionals. The topic was how to get communications on senior management's agenda. Communicators know that it's not always easy to do and that there's not much satisfaction -- or reward -- in a job that is not valued by business leaders.

Our advice to the audience focused on being business people first and communicators second. That is, understand your company, its industry, the competition and all the issues facing senior management. Be well-versed in how business operates. Then bring your skills and experience as communicators to the task. Make communication a tool for helping the company achieve its goals.

As I think about it, we could have easily made a few adjustments to our remarks and delivered them to business leaders. The title might be something like "How to Make Sure Communication is On Your Agenda."

Three experienced business executives have launched a private equity group, Boxwood Capital Partners, LLC, to focus on acquiring profitable, early-stage marketing, media, and services companies that utilize technology and the Internet to drive their business. The group combines the executive experience of Patrick Galleher, former CEO of WILink plc, the financial expertise of Bobby Morris, investment banker and chief financial officer, and the technology experience of Chris Deel, former CTO and IT systems developer.

Ideal acquisition candidates will generate between $500,000 and $2 million in earnings annually, and operate within a market niche that can support significant U.S. and/or international growth.

"There is a clear need for capital, managerial resources, and strategic leadership in this segment of the market," says Morris. "We are essentially bridging the gap between traditional private equity investing, which generally targets larger companies, and local individual investors, for whom transactions of this size and characteristic are often difficult to finance, especially in today's credit environment."

Boxwood Capital Partners' location in Richmond also helps fill a void in the local market for private equity. "Our area has many attributes that make it ideal for growing, entrepreneurial companies, including a well-educated workforce, a solid business services and government infrastructure, a moderate cost of living, and an ideal geographic location," says Galleher. "But if you look at Richmond compared to other cities in the Southeast, such as Charlotte, Atlanta and Raleigh, it does not offer many options for companies seeking private capital. We intend to change that."

Boxwood Capital Partners expects to close its first portfolio investment, an online wholesaling company, in June of this year, and has started fund raising for its first dedicated investment fund, targeting $15-20 million. Read more.

Eva Teig Hardy has stepped down, effective today, from her responsibilities as head of public policy & corporate communications for Dominion. As the brains behind the energy giant's highly effective lobbying efforts, Hardy was one of the highest ranking and most visible female executives in Richmond.

Joining Dominion in 1990 as vice president-government affairs for Dominion Virginia Power, Hardy later added corporate communications to her portfolio of responsibilities. In 1999 she took charge of communications and government affairs for the parent company, and then, in 2006, was elevated to the position of executive vice president.

Recapping a week of announcements detailing the new format of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Publisher Tom Silvestri gave us the bottom line this morning: "The Times-Dispatch will publish 16 to 20 fewer pages each week." He also dropped two new zingers: the newspaper is increasing subscription rates by an average of three cents per day, and it has stopped delivery on money-losing routes in the western part of the state.

"I feel your angst," Silvestri writes. Indeed he should. The newspaper industry is buffeted by many of the same economic forces that are hurting its readers.

Inflationary pressures are making themselves felt in the newspaper industry, Silvestri noted. Newsprint prices are projected to increase by 12 percent this year. That explains the aggressive shrinkage in the page count. Gasoline prices and unspecified manufacturing costs are behind the increase in circulation rates. And, of course, the slump in retail spending and the precarious financial predicament of many retailers -- look no farther than home-grown Circuit City Stores -- is crimping display advertising revenues. Silvestri specifically noted the demise of advertisers A&N and CompUSA.