Why did this company go off track?

We know morale sucks and the reasons have been plenty. JA states he'll give us the reasons behind the decisions. Well I have one: How did things go from so good to so bad so quickly? When beta got hired on there were great reports from alpha. The culture is different, we are not big pharma etc. etc. all seemed to make sense at first. Who is responsible for the fact most of us can't stand Lundbeck right now?

 

We are inching closer and closer to a Big Pharma mentality. Just wait until the Brex launch meeting, and my guess is that it will be nothing but a Big Pharma role playing nightmare. The call plan is fixed so we can make little to no changes, and is based on 7 calls per day. With the size of a lot of territories, that's all but impossible. We basically answer to Otsuka or Takeda management. Also, we have pleaded with them to solve problems we have faced since day one, and none have been addressed. Things will only continue to get worse. It's time to start looking.

Well, it was great while it lasted!

 

Yelp I saw the 7 calls per day too. There is no way in my territory to make 7 real calls per day

 

It's because we are contract reps. The deals with Otsuka and Takeda involve metrics. As we all know when InVentiv, Quintiles etc. promote for Pharma companies they agree to a quantity of details per rep per region per nation. We have done the same thing. The Alphas left remember the meeting in November 6 months after the launch of Maintena. JA told us the call plan obtainment which was in the 40% range and at that time he gave us a daily call plan goal. It was monitored and enforced and several AMs were let go. Prior to that day we were told we were Account Managers and to go see the HCPs and treatment teams that helped drive business and help patients. That's when everyone knew Lundbeck was no different. It's gotten more Big Pharma with every wave of managers hired. The RBDs came from Big Pharma and they must have loved it even though they all were displaced because they brought over their peeps and have kept the big Pharma dream alive and well at Lundbeck.
We are Lundbeck world class in all we do!

 

Why would anyone really have thought this company was different? If they truly did cape about helping patients the structure would be totally different and there would be REAL investment in the disease. Partnering with big pharma companies is just big pharma over again. Developing great medicines is one thing but selling them by big pharma standards is just that - metrics, ass kissing, jockeying for position and back stabbing. POOR managed care because they refuse to negotiate,etc. After all seems that what they say about JA's time at Lilly

 

I agree. We are contract reps. I just wish there had been more transparency during the interviews and launch of Brintellix. It would have minimized many power struggles on a local level between the two companies. We were even put in workshops to LEAD without Authority and told to be the first rep in to deliver the launch message... We were made to believe Takeda was onboard with this direction, which they were not . In fact, they were lead to believe that it was business as usual in there pod selling style. We were set up to fail from the begining with bait and switch. Promises of specialty, no big pharma, controlling your book of business, minimal overlap , ground floor opportunity with room for advancement. Where did all the culture go?

 

All correct! We can't control much over here when we play second banana to Otsuka and Takeda. Psychs move around from territory to territory and we try to split credit with a six month lag time! It's like trying to catch the wind and very de motivating. Mike Hanley promised to fix the Sales data capture issues and now he is gone. I hope it's growing pains but if they classify AMs as known performers based on these crazy numbers then what's the point in staying around. You will make no money, get no pay raise and get no advancement opportunities. It will continue to be a revolving door as AMs come and go-mostly go!

 

And now beta gets to call on primary care physicians.

 

So much for Account Management Specially!

 

Think about this beta account managers:
You will be putting together a target list for your gamma counterparts. They will only have Brintellix until year end which means their bonus check will be entirely driven by your work. Not only does beta have to sell a me-too but hand over all the hard work that has been done to a new group of people.
How is JA going to spin that in Orlando?

 

Oh don't think the entire beta team isn't wondering the exact thing you mentioned! Orlando will prove to be a miserable meeting at best, and at worst, just another demoralizing meeting where everyone will go home and make it their mission to find another company. We are a pure and simple contract sales force. My guess is that sometime in 2016, the sales force will undergo a layoff. It's coming.

 

You know, it's funny. I am headed to Chicago this week for a final interview. And I wonder, when did making $125-$150k become so shitty? If you have a base salary of somewhere in the neighborhood of $95-$115 as I am reading on here and you make commission, what is the problem?

If you were any good and had aspirations of making a boat load more money, go to medical device sales if you can get the job. Otherwise, thank your lucky stars you have this job. Sounds like a lot of people around here want a handout. Probably a bunch of Obama supporters. Work very little and bitch because you aren't making more. I just don't get it. People laid off in our profession and many others and then they cannot sustain the lifestyle they are used to and have built for their families and people on here are bitching about every little thing they can think of. It is sad.

I want this job and will be thankful for every day I can provide for my family.

 

Oh, boo hoo. We have to go to Orlando for a day longer than I want to. Or we have to do some role playing. Or we co-promote with a couple of idiots. I have never heard so many pussies whining in my life.

 

To poster #12 and #13. You are either management paid to be told how to think or not one of the original psych sales force. Yes, you are correct. We are being paid to do a job. However, I have never seen a company renege on so many promises: those promises which were the reason we came here. We are no different than any other company yet JA preaches like a Baptist minister how different we are and how the patient matters. BS to that. We answer to Japan and beta has NO importance to this organization what so ever anymore. Otsuka will lead Rexulti and if Lundbeck thinks the beta reps will carry any weight with this drug, they are delusional. Gamma is now lead dog with Brintellix which will cause Takeda to start flexing their muscle. All of which leaves the beta reps on the outside looking in.

 

not mgt, but lord you guys bitch more than anything. flame away, but in this corporate culture of layoffs--be happy you have a job. suck it up and play the role during role play, get your certificate, and go home. quit bitching and shut the f up

 

I've been here a little over a year with beta. Honestly, I don't see what you're trying to say regarding the company going off track. Before you accuse me of drinking the kool aid, I want to point out that I came on board with a lot of hesitation coming from big pharma. Lundbeck is NOT big pharma and does not even remotely feel like it. My teammates are happy, my manager is awesome to work with, and this is the best job I've had in my 16 years of pharma. I know we're making adjustments and hard decisions regarding the company direction, but it's the right move for all of us to be competitive in the U.S. market. Just my 2 cents. Raising the flame shield now.

 

Agree with the above poster. This is the best pharmacy company I have worked for in my career.

The whining on here is ridiculous

 

I interviewed this week in Chicago and am waiting for my counter-offer to come through. I'll be a part of the Gamma expansion. What I was told by several sources at the interview was that Beta is now Lundbeck's specialty launch team and will be the lead with Rexulti, and that Gamma won't even be selling it until later next year. So I'm under the impression that the place to be is Beta. I've been a part of product launches in my prior years and those were the best times, even when the launch was considered "mediocre". I'm definitely looking forward to meeting and working with my Beta counterparts.

 

Amen

 

The place to be is Beta if you want to be the 3rd, 4th or 5th voice on Rexulti that a MD hears that WEEK!.