After Today, It's Time To Move On

My ASM has pushed me to realize that it's time to go. He thinks EVERY, SINGLE CALL, should be a launch call, complete with those damn patient profiles to be used 100% of the time, without fail! He has no sense of how to sell a damn thing! He doesn't care that 3 of our alliance partners have already been in the office the same week! Most managers realize that just having a conversation about your products is usually far more effective than throwing some stupid patient profile at them each time! The average hallway call is about 30 seconds or less, that's why we do LUNCHES, to get MORE TIME with the physician to go deeper into the call. But with this idiot, that doesn't cut it! I really can't deal with him anymore. My full time job now, is finding another job!

 

RW?

 

This description could fit quite a few ASMs, mine included. Just do the best you can, and forget about it.

 

How many of us have heard- we are in "a marriage where divorce is not an option" ?

 

Good example for why people join a company and leave a manager.

 

Yep. Had a lunch the other day with a top doctor that is writing a good amount and committed to using more. Same happened on 2 subsequent calls. Manager said he thought calls went well. Received my for and got a 1!!! Said I didn't use the profile enough! What a jackass.

 

You psych people are just plain weird.

 

Perfect example of a person that should not be in management, but that's the kind of manager the company wants these days. Think about it, do they really think that a psych doesn't have a clue about where to prescribe an AD or a atypical, even though they have practiced for years and years? Do they really believe that talking about a patient they see several times a day, will make them rx any drug? No, it whether they can rx it without jumping through hoops, and can the patient afford it!!! The micromanagement philosophy has permeated Lundbeck. I mean how many companies do you find that managers only "manage" a handful of reps, or an RD only has 5 or so managers under them? I can't think of one except us!

 

I think everyone in my district feels the same as the above post. If the y think we show these ridiculous profiles on the same docs over and over again, they are crazy! It ain't gonna happen in the real world! Calls over 30 seconds are seen at lunches only. Thats just the way it is. If a manager has trouble with that, they need to step down.

 

psych is a dead specialty. All psych reps should be terminated. Worthless.

 

My guess is that Neuro will be the first to go. With Xenazine generics eating away more and more, and when Sabril hits the generic wall, big time in the Spring, they won't need near as many of you as there are now to sell Onfi and Northera. Also, right now generics are not that big of a deal to you guys, whereas in psych, generics make up 95% and more of our competitors. Also, you guys don't have to deal with psychotic partners like Otsuka/Takeda, who want to control EVERYTHING, and actually work against (Otsuka) you!

Of course, this will have a huge impact on psych as well, that's why we will all merge as one salesforce. By then, a lot more employees will have left Lundbeck, not only because of the above, but we have no real pipeline to keep us going in the future. The change in culture to that of big pharma, has had and will have a major impact on how many leave.

 

98% generic market. Does it makes sense to have 5 people promoting Rexulti and 3-4 on Trintellix? No.
The company could get rid of gamma and cut beta in half. At least once a week, a customer asks me why so many people promoting drug X or Y. Lundbeck only owns a third of Trintellix and less than half of Rexulti. They made bad deals plain and simple.

 

Yep, this company has no way out of its death spiral. No pipeline and low revenue assets once Onfi goes generic.

Everyone in management still here is just milking over-inflated titles that they hope to flip into a job at another company within the next 18 months.

 

3-4 promoting Trintellix? Try 12-15 with Takeda (3 on the payroll at Lundbeck). We own 35% of Trintellix. 5 people promoting (one on payroll at Lundbeck) and we own 45% of Rexulti.

 

Worst management ever, the southeast is the worst. They have no clue what they are doing and are grasping at straws.

 

I feel your pain but 12-15 is a little high. I think the 3-4 reference is per customer not the overlap with a beta or gamma rep. Usually it is 1 beta, 1 gamma, 1 alpha (not in every state), and 1 -2 Takeda reps. Doctor has to suffer through maybe 4 or 5 Trintellix messages just like they must deal with about 5 Rexulti messages. When you do the math and figure out how much these drugs sell and divide by the # of reps it is awfully small. Nowadays you need to be bringing in at least a million dollars in your territory to be successful. That is per rep, not the pod of 5.

 

there are some Takeda managers directing both pod members to call on a single psych. Many times the psych has more than 1 location, and all Takeda reps get paid on that singe psych at each satellite. So it's very realistic to have 6 Takeda reps calling on and blocking access for the beta and gamma rep. tell me... who is leading who???? Where is the specialty sales force?

 

Takeda owns the US NDA. So to answer your question, they own you regardless of who the HCP is.

 

When do you realistically think Onfi generic will be on the market?

 

The day after we lose exclusivity, 100% chance. Same for any drug in this industry with annual revenue>100 million. LOE is in 2018 (fall I think).

The question is when does management think they can go into coast mode in terms of marketing and sales with the brand. Xenazine should be a good indicator. They expected it to go generic in Q2 2016 (it ended up going generic in summer 2015). When did they have marketing and reps switch to Northera and Onfi?

With the loss of Sabril in early 2017, and with failure of the AD pipeline drug, it could get real ugly real fast for neuro across the company. Carnexiv will be a very, very small brand.

As they will likely merge psych and neuro sales force, it will be interesting if neuro takes most of the hit, or if it's poorly performing reps regardless of prior brands they promoted.

Good luck, seriously.