Pharmalot blogger among WSJ layoffs

Ed Silverman, who covers the pharmaceutical industry and writes the Pharmalot blog, was among those laid off by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

His last day will be July 18.

According to the union that represents Journal reporters, the layoffs included nine reporters, four special writers, two senior special writers, and one video journalist.

A list of the laid off reporters can be found here.

Silverman had been hired in February 2014 and revived the Pharmalot blog, which he had started while working at the Newark Star-Ledger, in June 2014.

Silverman’s work covering pharma is well known. He wrote a three-part series about allegations that Pfizer sales reps were encouraged to use inappropriate practices to boost sales of an older AIDS drug, which was honored by the Association of Health Care Journalists.

He also broke stories about use of a corporate helicopter by a Pfizer executive to commute from an out-of-state home; FDA plans to boost inspections in China; and a paper co-authored by an FDA staffer that questioned the safety of a widely used diabetes pill —before it was published in JAMA.

Silverman also worked at New York Newsday and Investor’s Business Daily.

He has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and a bachelor’s in accounting from Binghamton University.