Aptiom launch meeting,from the stage Aptiom is a novel sodium-channel blocker. Aptiom is recognized by the FDA as a new molecular entity with a unique active ingredient and structurally disctinct from any other drug. do not reference trileptal as Aptiom will be successful. Cut to 4 months later Doctor, what type of success did you have with Trileptal? Aptiom is similar to Trileptal with a better side effect profile. Doctor take a look at in the hyponatremia rates of Aptiom v trileptal. Consider Aptiom as the next generation of Trileptal, all the benefits of the machanism of action you know with a better side effect profile. From upper management: target physicians who prescribed trileptal. Physician: When you were here after the Aptiom launch you told me that Aptiom was unique, novel, distinct. Now you tell me that it is similar to trilleptal, with some improvements and should be used for my Trileptal, Tegretol failures. Thanks for the lunch/breakfast (physicians then prescribes generic oxcard) no prior auth, ne step edit, happy MD, staff and patient (cost)
Get used to that strategy because it is our last ditch grasp to keep this product viable. product team freaked when they saw most formularies are listing it as a carb derivative and not a 2nd generation AED like FYCOMPA or Vimpat. They told us at launch it would not fail miserable here like it did in Europe because in Europe they marketed it wrong. Now we are marketing it here just like in Europe. The end is near.
It would seem that the smart people in managed markets, marketing and sales had plenty of time to develop a sales strategy where Aptiom would be positioned upon launch. It would also seem there was time to talk with thought leaders (investigators)on how they viewed the drug and planned on using Aptiom. Finally, there was time to determine formulary status including step edits and prior authorizations. As an example, in some states, a patient has to fail generic carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine prior to Aptiom approval. This directly conflicts with the message that Aptiom was launched with. As reps are out there talking about a new molecular entity, the competition is talking about Aptiom being just another carb and managed care confirms their message. If Aptiom is reserved for carb and oxcarb failures the likelelihood of success with Aptiom is near 0. While in launches you sometimes need to change course, there should have been no surprises to the levels that arose here. It would appear that a right size for the field is the Fycompa model of 50-60 reps and possibly fill in the rest with a contract salesforce, as Eisai is doing. This was a flawed launch before the launch took place. It is too bad as there is some talent on the Aptiom team.
Agree, talent is there but product is not. Too many reps for ROI. Goal of 1k by end of year... which means, less than 10 Rx per rep... which means, revenue is not there to support what is in place.
Such a shed the light on the problem post! We never had a strategy for this product and continue to just throw crap on the wall and money at it. The biggest problem from what I see here in the field is physicians view us as a carb and FYCOMPA and Vimpat as 2nd generation AED's. Heck, most of the formularies in the north east list aptiom in the carb section and FYCOMPA and Vimpat in the 2nd generation Anticonvulsant section. I think that says it all. Brand is clueless and bailing an ounce of water from a week from a boat that is hemorrhaging cash is not going to save this product or the good people trying to promote it. Why did I ever leave UCB?! I was sold a bucket of BS to come here!! Product sucks.
Holy Cow. You hit the nail right on the head my friend. It is clear that brand team had no clue about this drug and its' initial launch strategy was extremely flawed. NEW MOLECULAR ENTITY?!?! My physicians were laughing at that from the first day of launch. They even pointed out that the BCBS plans and state mediciads listed it as a carb derivative on their formularies while Vimpat and FYCOMPA are listed as second generation anticonvulsants. We lost all credibility launching with that fairy tail. It's too bad Sippy couldn't have spent some time in the field right at launch to see how ridiculous ideas in the marketing meetings don't translate in the field. Our physicians are not stupid and know when we are feeding them a ton of BS. Now we desperately try to change strategy and we look even more foolish. This drug will be reserved as way close to last line by my docs and it is not due to managed care coverage or me not working hard and doing my job. It is because it is a carb and other good carbs are available in generic form for pennies a day. I'm sorry but that is the plain truth. This product manager and brand team should be a Harvard Business School Case Study on how not to launch a product. Maybe we should pay our investigators and speakers and focus group physicians a lot less money so they don't lie about the product so they can be kept on the money train until we find no one in the field wants to use it.
Don't worry, mother ship has faith in us... "We successfully launched Aptiom® (eslicarbazepine acetate) earlier this fiscal year and sales are on track to hit projections. We anticipate significant growth acceleration for the product in the second half of FY 2014." Significant growth acceleration guys...
Very true post! So, here's a riddle for you? What do you do with a product manager who massively screws up a launch of the companies AED product and misses the first year sales goal massively? PROMOTE HIM!! LOL. Yup, that's how it works here. THey hold us massively accountable for sales and all the other crap but at upper levels such failure is not only tolerated BUT rewarded. Congratulations BS. You really earned that promotion. LOL.
You just don't get it do you? It's not about driving sales or blowing out a launch that gets you promoted here. Its how good you are at lying to the Japanese and making them believe they should keep investing in a dead product like Aptiom and that this company has a future after Latuda. SUN101, that's a joke. It will be fun to see all the rats leaving the sinking ship when Aptiom continues to suck and Abilify generic eats into the Latuda cash train. Wise up Japan, you have lying idiots running this company.
