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5,000 Contrave Scripts in first 3 weeks, not too shabby..things

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Anonymous

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are looking DAMN good at Takeda. Demand is so high we've changed pharmacy implementation. Belviq and Qysmia had horrible launches, we've already beat them and they didn't get 5,000 scripts their first 3 weeks.

Victoza didn't get 5,000 scripts in first 3 weeks and neither did Linzess. All the Takeda legacy droppings are at Novo and TAP droppings are at Ironwood or Gilead :)
All the good reps stayed at Takeda and are kicking ass with either Contrave or Brintellix!

#hatersgonnahate
#Takedasgotitsgrooveback
#thingsarelookingdamngoodatTakeda
#Contraveisbestprimarycaredruglaunchinlast10years
 












We changed implementation because it was a mess not because of the demand and let's face it, if we weren't giving it away for 1/4 the regular retail price, we wouldn't be getting any rxes. Drs aren't rxing because of the overwhelming data, it's only because they like our cheap introductory price. You really are stupid.
 




Anonymous said:
We changed implementation because it was a mess not because of the demand and let's face it, if we weren't giving it away for 1/4 the regular retail price, we wouldn't be getting any rxes. Drs aren't rxing because of the overwhelming data, it's only because they like our cheap introductory price. You really are stupid.
Click to expand...

FIERCE PHARMA ARTICLE

Takeda Pharmaceuticals saw a problem with recent obesity drug launches: Cost. Private insurers and public payers were refusing coverage--or foisting big copays onto patients--dragging down new drugs marketed by Vivus ($VVUS) and Eisai.

So, when Takeda rolled out Orexigen's ($OREX) new obesity drug Contrave a few weeks ago, the Japanese drugmaker also rolled out a direct-delivery program, Direct Save. Cash patients whose insurance won't cover the drug pay $70 each month for the first two months, and $60 monthly after that. For privately insured patients, the copay is $55 per month for the first two months, and $45 a month after that.

If cost had been a barrier for Eisai's Belviq and Vivus' Qsymia, then Takeda meant to remove the barrier for Contrave.

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And it worked--too well. Fewer than three weeks into the launch, more than 5,000 prescriptions had been sent into the Direct Save system. The program's website couldn't handle the volume of registrations. The backup call center couldn't deal with the number of callers.

"Unfortunately, as with many new tactics, there have been some glitches," Orexigen Chief Commercial Officer Mark Booth said during Monday's third-quarter earnings call with analysts. "nforeseen technical difficulties … have resulted in delays in processing the incoming prescriptions."

Takeda has scrambled to cope, by adding call center staff and extending its hours, and troubleshooting the website. The company is also getting in touch with patients to expedite enrollments, and "proactively reaching out to healthcare providers" to make sure doctors don't lose faith in the Direct Save program.

Meanwhile, 900 Takeda reps are on the street supporting the Contrave launch, many of them with existing contacts in diabetes--where there's a significant overlap with potential obesity-drug patients. More than 500 speaker programs are now on the calendar, too. Takeda has also teamed up with Scale Down, a weight-management program that centers on a wireless scale given to patients for free. And patients who don't want to mail order can take their prescriptions--and copay discount cards--to retail pharmacies.

Booth proposes that the overwhelming interest in Direct Save is as much about predictability as it is about bargain-hunting. The wide range of coverage is a quirk of the obesity drug market--with patients showing up at the pharmacy, scripts in hand, not knowing whether their insurance will pay 50% of the cost, 20%, or nothing, he said. Under the direct program, doctors can tell patients exactly how much.

"That drove a lot of interest in the program," Booth said, which ended up putting a bigger-than-expected chunk of Contrave business into the direct channel. "That's the good news, great demand."

The bad news is obvious, but potentially fixable. Booth wouldn't say how many scripts remain in the Direct Save backlog. "I can just tell you that there's a task force set up on this," he said. "It's a top priority with Takeda. And we're working as hard as we can."
 








Headline:

Takeda scrambles to fix glitches in Contrave direct-delivery launch
November 12, 2014 | By Tracy Staton

So much for beta testing Marketing - greeby/mowad/katie. When putting all your eggs in one basket, should you not have considered a scenario that would crash the system? This is standard in that it is critical in understanding volume capacity. If you knew this answer in advance then you could have managed the situation. Purely a rookie mistake, but the incompetence will be forgiven in the girls club. You sure know how to suck the positive aspects out of a launch. This will hurt us in the long run. We get limited time with our customers and this avoidable mess has us now "scrambling" to fix the issue with our customers. So frustrating. Anyone agree?
 












Cmon-yes this was a screw-up, but the docs like this drug for the most part and I'm just pushing them to retail-which is what we should have done in the first place. But this is not that big a deal.
 








We are ahead of the Belviq launch trajectory. Saxenda..not gonna happen, patients won't want to inject themselves to lose wait. Congrats on a great luanch Takeda!

#feelsdamngoodtoworkforTakeda
#ContraveandBrintellixarebestlauncheddrugsinPCPinthelast10years!
 




Our rxes have all been because we are giving our drug away, not because drs are amazed by our efficacy or safety. Let's see how things go once the competitors react and lower their pricing. The one competitor just had a huge MC win that will put them lower in price so
Let's see how things progress.
 




Anonymous said:
Our rxes have all been because we are giving our drug away, not because drs are amazed by our efficacy or safety. Let's see how things go once the competitors react and lower their pricing. The one competitor just had a huge MC win that will put them lower in price so
Let's see how things progress.
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$70 is def giving it away. Dumb dumb. They are not writing it just for the price but if you actually listened to your customers than maybe you would have a clue as to why!!!!
 




I listen and I haven't had one dr say WOW 3-4% better than placebo. What they say is, if it's cheaper I'll try it. They aren't saying WOW, this is safer and easy to dose and its bid, they say, if it's chesper I'll try it. Wake up you kool ade drinker
 




Anonymous said:
are looking DAMN good at Takeda. Demand is so high we've changed pharmacy implementation. Belviq and Qysmia had horrible launches, we've already beat them and they didn't get 5,000 scripts their first 3 weeks.

Victoza didn't get 5,000 scripts in first 3 weeks and neither did Linzess. All the Takeda legacy droppings are at Novo and TAP droppings are at Ironwood or Gilead :)
All the good reps stayed at Takeda and are kicking ass with either Contrave or Brintellix!

#hatersgonnahate
#Takedasgotitsgrooveback
#thingsarelookingdamngoodatTakeda
#Contraveisbestprimarycaredruglaunchinlast10years
Click to expand...

1/4 the price 4 times the sales reps you need to be selling at least 4 times the volume of other launches. I'm not impressed. Just wait until managed care puts a step edit that you have to try generic first. Maybe a compounding pharmacy will make a GENERIC CONTRAVE pill. Drs are asking why do I have to dose down with Plavix when Naltroxone is so important? Hmm just Rx generic problem, cost solved.
 




Funny, naltrexone contributes a lot of baggage and absolutely no weight loss. Having to add a drug like that to Wellbutrin all for very minimal weight loss is just ridiculas. At least both mess in the competitor are both effective compounds to lose weight.
 












Anonymous said:
1/4 the price 4 times the sales reps you need to be selling at least 4 times the volume of other launches. I'm not impressed. Just wait until managed care puts a step edit that you have to try generic first. Maybe a compounding pharmacy will make a GENERIC CONTRAVE pill. Drs are asking why do I have to dose down with Plavix when Naltroxone is so important? Hmm just Rx generic problem, cost solved.
Click to expand...

What is this 5,000 scripts in the first three weeks? Where did that come from? Oh, those were scripts written not scripts actually filled? What about more recent numbers? Where are they at? What do refills look like?
 




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