Abbvie- Sweet Company

[Anonymous]

1. Failed it's not a tax inversion. We really want them. Oh wait never mind here is a billion plus dollars!
2. Patent trolls- people, passion, possibilities (just not scientific)
3. Let's get on our knees & give all pricing power to PBM.

Abbvie is the rat that will do anything to survive. Sweet company, don't be surprised when we are looking for jobs. Do they really need so many reps when it's at the bargain bin at the dollar store?

Obviously Wall Street likes the deal. Oh wait, no they realize we suck. We just murdered their biotech cash cow. I'm sure they will play nice & buy abbv instead.

Merry Xmas Abbvie and I can't wait to see what we do next year!

 

[Anonymous]

1. Failed it's not a tax inversion. We really want them. Oh wait never mind here is a billion plus dollars!
2. Patent trolls- people, passion, possibilities (just not scientific)
3. Let's get on our knees & give all pricing power to PBM.

Abbvie is the rat that will do anything to survive. Sweet company, don't be surprised when we are looking for jobs. Do they really need so many reps when it's at the bargain bin at the dollar store?

Obviously Wall Street likes the deal. Oh wait, no they realize we suck. We just murdered their biotech cash cow. I'm sure they will play nice & buy abbv instead.

Merry Xmas Abbvie and I can't wait to see what we do next year!

The Hcv market needs about a third of the current reps. This market just got turned into a commodity market. No need for silly sales message. Abbvie just told us what they think of their product. They could not compete on selling. Probably a great short term move. But this will not be a long term strategy for growth. Pipeline is bad and this will save poor mgt for a year or so

 

[Anonymous]

Reps are not needed, but account managers are in short supply.

 

[Anonymous]

web based scripts; the new Pharma

 

[Anonymous]

Reps are not needed, but account managers are in short supply.

I am a account mgr. 1 year later still not sure what direction we are going. I think down?

 

[Anonymous]

The Hcv market needs about a third of the current reps. This market just got turned into a commodity market. No need for silly sales message. Abbvie just told us what they think of their product. They could not compete on selling. Probably a great short term move. But this will not be a long term strategy for growth. Pipeline is bad and this will save poor mgt for a year or so

Been here a long time. This was definitely a shortsighted move to get quick sales on the frontend at the expense of degrading the entire market.

Secondly, it puts the position of pharma rep even further down in the food chain and makes us about as necessary as tits on a bull.

Abbvie not only screwed the industry by becoming purely a price whore, but also screwed themselves and the reps. We know they are certainly not concerned with rep job stability but why hurt yourself and the industry for a quick buck that will only hurt in the longterm?

 

[Anonymous]

Been here a long time. This was definitely a shortsighted move to get quick sales on the frontend at the expense of degrading the entire market.

Secondly, it puts the position of pharma rep even further down in the food chain and makes us about as necessary as tits on a bull.

Abbvie not only screwed the industry by becoming purely a price whore, but also screwed themselves and the reps. We know they are certainly not concerned with rep job stability but why hurt yourself and the industry for a quick buck that will only hurt in the longterm?

This sums it up. I came over from Humira to HCV and regret it. They are solid at least for 2 more years. This price war and allowing pbm's to run the show, will eliminate most of our sales jobs quickly. Front end push then we will be tossed. Look how small our territories/call plans are. Anyone else but just me see how vulnerable we are to getting greatly reduced in reps?

 

[Anonymous]

This sums it up. I came over from Humira to HCV and regret it. They are solid at least for 2 more years. This price war and allowing pbm's to run the show, will eliminate most of our sales jobs quickly. Front end push then we will be tossed. Look how small our territories/call plans are. Anyone else but just me see how vulnerable we are to getting greatly reduced in reps?

I think it is obvious, not just that they have no need for us but my drs are pissed. They feel we are trying to take choice away from them and choose a regimen they don't prefer. One of my big KOL's said he will only work with an SP that is willing to keep appealing ES until he gets Harvoni and won't consider us now in other patient types or plans. Other companies hate us now too, not just Gilead. It was a very shortsighted move to get us at best 65% only in ES patients. That equals a 6 % national MS. It shows that Gonzo knows our regimen sucks. I don't care what some idiot MS says.

For the idiots that don't think that it will get us only 65% at best-
only about 70-75 % of patients are G1. Rest will be Gild. Figure at least 10% of G1 will not be able to use riba or ritonivir.

Bottom line is we suck & anyone think this is just being negative, you are just an idiot with head in the sand.

 

[Anonymous]

And what do you think the timeline for HUMIRA is?

Abbvie has another multi billion dollar drug, enormous debt and good cash position. We are ripe for a takeover.

Look for Pfizer to shift from AZ to Abbv and instantly get deep into immunology.

What, did I let the cat out of the bag? Whoopsie..

 

[Anonymous]

Out of curiosity, why would you leave Humira to go to hcv? Which franchise in humira? I work for humira derm and declined the move to sell pills. Also, Gilead's product is less pill burden and first to market. It just didn't make sense to me to change franchises.

 

[Anonymous]

Out of curiosity, why would you leave Humira to go to hcv? Which franchise in humira? I work for humira derm and declined the move to sell pills. Also, Gilead's product is less pill burden and first to market. It just didn't make sense to me to change franchises.

You know what? That's a very good question. I was worried about the Humira patent expiration but NOW I can clearly see that will far outlive the rep life in the new HCV shitty commodity environment.
Many of my brethren in Humira got duped into HCV and will find themselves, first, as laughing stock used car salesman, and secondly as unemployed losers who took a job in a price driven commodity product.
There are truly no need for sales people in this HCV world anymore. The line in the sand has been drawn and the price war will be the main determination of revenue. Plus profits will be greatly squeezed for all HCV companies which will further put pressure on headcount reduction.
BTY I was in GI

 

[Anonymous]

I am sorry that the hcv franchise is not what you thought it would be. This might be a Hail Mary, but can you go back to any Humira franchise if they have an opening? Just a thought and I don't think anyone would blame you for the move. Like you said Humira still has legs on it until 2020, even though the patent is up in 2016. Everything I am reading on seeking alpha and other analyst reports doesn't see an erosion from biosimiliars until then. Thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

So far I give it 6.5 out of 10. It's ok. There are some things I like and some that I don't
. Some things we do seem counter productive. Training was horrible. Boss seems ok. Let you know in a year.

 

[Anonymous]

You know what? That's a very good question. I was worried about the Humira patent expiration but NOW I can clearly see that will far outlive the rep life in the new HCV shitty commodity environment.
Many of my brethren in Humira got duped into HCV and will find themselves, first, as laughing stock used car salesman, and secondly as unemployed losers who took a job in a price driven commodity product.
There are truly no need for sales people in this HCV world anymore. The line in the sand has been drawn and the price war will be the main determination of revenue. Plus profits will be greatly squeezed for all HCV companies which will further put pressure on headcount reduction.
BTY I was in GI

Ditto from me. Came from rheumy side. I honestly see them decimating the sales force by mid July. Think about it, inferior product, purely price driven. We are a fifth wheel on a wagon and will be viewed as just pains in the ass with these tiny territories. Oh well, guess my vested retirement was meant to be tapped sooner then planned. If you have less then 20 yrs here or under 50, you need to do some preemptive job searching, now!

 

[Anonymous]

You know what? That's a very good question. I was worried about the Humira patent expiration but NOW I can clearly see that will far outlive the rep life in the new HCV shitty commodity environment.
Many of my brethren in Humira got duped into HCV and will find themselves, first, as laughing stock used car salesman, and secondly as unemployed losers who took a job in a price driven commodity product.
There are truly no need for sales people in this HCV world anymore. The line in the sand has been drawn and the price war will be the main determination of revenue. Plus profits will be greatly squeezed for all HCV companies which will further put pressure on headcount reduction.
BTY I was in GI

Bingo! We have a winner!!!!!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Bingo! We have a winner!!!!!!!!

Incorrect. We do need sales people - maybe not all that we have now, but sales should be the last bucket downsized!why do we need all these overpaid GPAES, AE's...etc that talk about Standards of Care (putting systems in place at large institutions to screen patients for HCV) that will do nothing more than actually help
Our competitor get chosen as the preferred drug for treating all these newly diagnosed HCV positive patients????? Now that's stupidity at its best if Abbvie continues that strategy! Listen - first round of lay offs should be from the top down - upper management (the folks who actually have the authority to make all the launch strategies, pricing, final marketing decisions etc) then Product and marketing heads, then GPAES, AEs, Managed Care, MSLs, that should be first and I don't mean get rid of all of them , but most.

The RMs, DMs, and reps will actually be needed for later so I do not think they should be downsized at all until we view how much money we've saved after the above people have been downsized (that will be a huge savings!!!). That, in my opinion, should be the plan to start with as far as reducing head count.

 

[Anonymous]

Incorrect. We do need sales people - maybe not all that we have now, but sales should be the last bucket downsized!why do we need all these overpaid GPAES, AE's...etc that talk about Standards of Care (putting systems in place at large institutions to screen patients for HCV) that will do nothing more than actually help
Our competitor get chosen as the preferred drug for treating all these newly diagnosed HCV positive patients????? Now that's stupidity at its best if Abbvie continues that strategy! Listen - first round of lay offs should be from the top down - upper management (the folks who actually have the authority to make all the launch strategies, pricing, final marketing decisions etc) then Product and marketing heads, then GPAES, AEs, Managed Care, MSLs, that should be first and I don't mean get rid of all of them , but most.

The RMs, DMs, and reps will actually be needed for later so I do not think they should be downsized at all until we view how much money we've saved after the above people have been downsized (that will be a huge savings!!!). That, in my opinion, should be the plan to start with as far as reducing head count.

WHAT ABOUT THE BLOATED MARKETING TEAM!!!! MOST SHOULD GO!!

 

[Anonymous]

WHAT ABOUT THE BLOATED MARKETING TEAM!!!! MOST SHOULD GO!!

Marketing team is in there...of course...

All I know is top layers down need to be thinned out before any of the sales force does (I usually never stick up for RMs and DMs, but they are needed right now). We do not heed many of the jobs which are redundant, annoy our customers, and are overpriced and do not add value. Many of the large hospitals and educational institutions do NOT need someone coming in there talking about standards of care when they already have their own process in place. How offensive as well!

If you are a sales representative...do not give up! We need to fight for our worth and stop protecting all the higher paid people in jobs that use us and abuse us for getting them appointments, field intelligences, introductions, and I could go on... It's not TEAMWORK when you are doing the job of three other people and not getting any of the compensation or recognition for it. How many times do you think a GPAE, AE, managed care, or MSL has taken credit for something that YOU did for them??? It happens ALL the time and that is NOT teamwork that is blatant fraud and it is not fair!! Stand up for ourselves and fight because the reps do the majority of the work and get no credit for it. Truly pathetic and it needs to STOP!

 

[Anonymous]

Marketing team is in there...of course...

All I know is top layers down need to be thinned out before any of the sales force does (I usually never stick up for RMs and DMs, but they are needed right now). We do not heed many of the jobs which are redundant, annoy our customers, and are overpriced and do not add value. Many of the large hospitals and educational institutions do NOT need someone coming in there talking about standards of care when they already have their own process in place. How offensive as well!

If you are a sales representative...do not give up! We need to fight for our worth and stop protecting all the higher paid people in jobs that use us and abuse us for getting them appointments, field intelligences, introductions, and I could go on... It's not TEAMWORK when you are doing the job of three other people and not getting any of the compensation or recognition for it. How many times do you think a GPAE, AE, managed care, or MSL has taken credit for something that YOU did for them??? It happens ALL the time and that is NOT teamwork that is blatant fraud and it is not fair!! Stand up for ourselves and fight because the reps do the majority of the work and get no credit for it. Truly pathetic and it needs to STOP!

you nailed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

This is a mature organization. Span of control is way to small. Half DM and Rms should be cut out. Retain rep and AE structure. Cut out VIR cross over.

Eliminate or significantly reduce rep ride alongside as well. When managers travel with device reps, do they give feedback on how to hold the ipad? Come on. It needs to be about action plan, next steps and execution to sales goals.

And to that end, managers need to sign up for their financial commitment. Just like device. Sign up and sell. If you cannot make your numbers, like the rest of the selling world, you will exit stage left.

Cannot sell stents due to long term contracting in territory hospitals. Stay for salary or leave. Choice is yours. Another will be hired. There is a lot of turnover, but Medtronic and Stryker seem to do ok selling 15k plus devices.