The question some may ask is where did the beginning of the end start? I worked for Noven for quite some time and enjoyed the majority of my time there. To me, the end of the company (as we knew and loved it) began with the Minivelle launch. There really has not been a single good decision at Noven since the launch of Minivelle. If you know of one, I'd be interested in reading your reply. I'll could cover several things here, but I'll stick to the basics: 1) The Minivelle Launch Bonus Plan: No one can argue that Minivelle is a solid product. Whether you think it was not as good as VVD or better, it continued a product line that was superior to the competition. So how was it the beginning of the end? Well, simply.... Lies. I myself can still see Andy P and then Kathy K standing on stage covering the IC plan and its UNCAPPED BONUS! They can continue to this day to lie about how that plan was supposed to be set up, but it screwed the best reps in the company, and for no other reason than greed. I know of several top 10 Minivelle launch reps who said their managers would call them each week with updates on how much bonus they would make..... To see it all disappear with...... hold it...... hold it...... a $1 per % growth over 120%!!! $1!!!!! I think the #1 rep lost over a $100g on that debacle. Oh, but the top 10 reps did get shoes! Please tell me of any other company in HISTORY that punished reps for doing better than their goal? ANY?.. The company rewarded their top reps, who went out and busted their butts by screwing them over. 200% to goal got you a whole $80.00 more than the rep who did 120% of goal. Nice! Now those top producers have either left, like me, or do just enough to keep the company off their back. Why sacrifice when you know you won't be rewarded? It's too bad we live in a world where people just can't do the right thing. Oh, don't think the reps and managers at Noven don't remember. There are those Huge moments in life where the simple and obvious answer is to just do the right thing. One you chose, you can't change the past. Noven chose their path that day. 2)FDA approval of Brisdelle: A lot of people high up at Noven did not do their homework. A product (paroxetine) that already had a poor reputation in the medical field was supposed to be a block-buster??? I still try to understand how AP and JL were able to convince JE and Hitsu that this product was viable? Yes, only 10% of menopausal women take estrogen. That does not mean 90% of women want, or need, or can take a non-estrogen. Oh, the $$money$$ in that 90% though! Oops, we forgot about the huge numbers of women who are already on an SSRI, the EMR's and copay card issues, managed care (or in Noven's case, lack of), and last but not least... Generic Paroxetine. Not to mention it doesn't work. I remember the excitement that Noven was working on a new non-hormonal for hot flashes. Remember LDMP? Then everyone in sales found out that it stood for low-dose paroxetine, it was like... WTF?...Seriously? How did this product ever get FDA approval, and why has Noven continued to spend tens of millions on DTC for this product? Couldn't pay the 1 or 2 million in Mini bonus at the time, but has $90+ million for Brisdelle advertising. Sweet! 3) Til Death do us Part: Here's a quick list of the little things that ended up being so big, and really added to the fire: "Don't talk about, don't sample, don't do anything with Minivelle. We sell Brisdelle now!" Yeah, that was probably one of the most egotistical, poorly thought out decisions in Noven's history. Lets stop talking about our core product (estrogen). The product we have successfully promoted for 20 years and made this company what it is. A product that has changed women's lives, and possibly saved the lives of tens of thousands. Lets just turn our back on that, stop sampling, and say an anti-depressant is the real ticket, doctor... That's like Toyota saying, "Guys, cars were great, but we really think moving forward that bicycles are the future!" You are now selling a product to your core physicians who are mad at you for not sampling Mini, believe in estrogen and have a generic SNRI (Effexor) that they already use for the patients who can't take estrogen.... Oh, but Effexor isn't FDA approved. Whatever! January 2014. How, I repeat, How did we not double up our efforts with Minivelle when the Mylan generic did not get FDA approval and it would be almost a year before they could try again? Especially when it was obvious that Brisdelle was already a huge mistake. At least by May/June of 2014 we should have been back on the Mini train. The amount of money thrown down the toilet still sickens me! What some people in corporate will do to prove a point, even though the only point they make is how foolish they continue to be. Oh, and now reps have to make Minivelle grow in T2 2015 to make up for Brisdelle losses? But still only 25% of IC plan with new generics on the market, one of which Noven makes? Seriously, nearly $100,000,000.00 is DTC advertising for Brisdelle?!.... I'm just so blown away by that. I'm interested in how long it will take to make that back? It's like having a $150,000 student loan with a degree in social work (no offense to social workers).... Why?.. You can work 30 years and you're not making a dent in that bill. The continued excuses for Brisdelle: Reps aren't promoting it right, copay card, oh the copay card doesn't work, it's EMR's, we need to change the core message 10 times, we need handout's instead of iPad details, refills..... Bla, bla, bla, bla bla! Reps can complain and corporate can blame, but how about the truth?!... Here it is!.. The majority of gynecologists don't wants this product (I say Gyn because they are the only specialty you HAVE to be on board for this product to succeed. Im and family practice will not carry this and Noven knows it). The few providers who do use Brisdelle have too much trouble filling the prescription, and unfortunately for the ones who do get it filled it only works for 3 to 6 months and losses efficacy. It's a failure! I could go on and on, but the point to my rambling is there is no company culture anymore. No one believes in a future at Noven cause anyone with any sense knows it is bleak, at least for the reps. The trust has long gone, the bonus plan is a joke, and Brisdelle is a complete failure that anyone on Nov 1st 2013 with any sense knew. But it all started with the Minivelle launch bonus plan. Your path was not chosen wisely.
Spot on, except I'd change my #1 to the hiring of AP. He did very little, but every single decision he made was the wrong one. Should have run off Merrell from the start to improve morale, but chickened out. Then everything else you said. It all falls on him. Eisenberg, the fall of Noven was the hiring of this clown.
Well they put Panagy out to pasture. Too late though. His decisions ruined your poor little company. Shows you what one incompetent person can do to a company and all its employees. Seriously, you have the best product in category with an innovative delivery system that consumers like and competitors can't reproduce, you walk away from it for a generic anti-depressant?? Sheer stupidity.
