Do the right thing....for a change.

[Anonymous]

Hiding AEs or not reporting outcomes is an incredibly serious violation. Ypu also have to consider the small number of pts that got a 2b3a as well as the small number that were in the C arm that got 600 mg load which is the gold standard.

 

[Anonymous]

Remember that most of the same people who designed the Jupiter strategy are still in leadership positions. So why would you think that things would change? These are the same people that demanded scalps of DSMs, PSSs and RSDs after AZ was investigated for Jupiter when it was their doings all along.

OP here. You bring up a very good point but miss one thing. Soriet was not here during the Jupiter fiasco. The new CEO has a great opportunity here. He can "clean the slate" so to speak. He can send a message to the healthcare community that AZ is an ethical company. The only way to do this.....withdraw the drug from the worldwide market until the investigation is over. This is a very very serious charge by the DOJ. If I was an IC I would never use another AZ product again or see an AZ rep. As word spreads of this DOJ investigation those of us selling B are in for some very very tough days ahead in the field. Frenchie....it's your move...do the right thing.

 

[Anonymous]

OP here. You bring up a very good point but miss one thing. Soriet was not here during the Jupiter fiasco. The new CEO has a great opportunity here. He can "clean the slate" so to speak. He can send a message to the healthcare community that AZ is an ethical company. The only way to do this.....withdraw the drug from the worldwide market until the investigation is over. This is a very very serious charge by the DOJ. If I was an IC I would never use another AZ product again or see an AZ rep. As word spreads of this DOJ investigation those of us selling B are in for some very very tough days ahead in the field. Frenchie....it's your move...do the right thing.

I had an IC yesterday tell me he will not use B until this is settled. Worried about his liability. By the way he is a speaker

 

[Anonymous]

J'ai eu mon énorme chèque et vraiment, comme mon BP CEO ami, je veux retrouver ma vie! Que dois-je faire maintenant que je dois tout cela beaucoup d'argent? Travailler?

 

[Anonymous]

J'ai eu mon énorme chèque et vraiment, comme mon BP CEO ami, je veux retrouver ma vie! Que dois-je faire maintenant que je dois tout cela beaucoup d'argent? Travailler?

translation..."I had my big paycheck and really like my BP CEO friend, I want my life back! What should I do now that I have all that much money? Work?"

The whole thread is stupid opinion. Ask yourself how this civil suit began in the pursuit of truth. Is there a scientist or a now-departed senior executive which knows an unpublished truth? Payday for the whistleblower only if true.

 

[Anonymous]

No one worth a dime is going to Rx Brilinta if he wants to keep the dime and his license to Rx. Fagettaboutit. The only way I'd promote this dog is if the manager is watching, then I'd wink and visit the next day.


I know the answer! Have pharma partner with the US gubment. That'll increase innovation and lower costs.

(Real answer: allow free market forces to work in pharmaceuticals, hospitals, home health -- everything because it's the only force that lowers costs and drives innovation -- and "insurance" for healthcare. As it is now, I'm dropping my coverage and paying the fine. If I get sick, I'll buy insurance, then.)

We've tried and we have failed. If you let pharmaceutical companies take huge profits under government protection, what you'll get is $5.00 each pills and lawsuits when the patent expires, plus a lot of incredibly overpaid executives. And corrupt false academic trials.

Wake up.

 

[Anonymous]

Withdrawal of brilinta by AZ will NEVER happen! They will gladly pay the fine and move on with their lies and deceit. That's how AZ does business. Look at Seroquel. The amoutn of the fine(s) was nothing compared to how much AZ made off the drug. We sold it off label daily, got caught and paid out a few bucks. No big deal. That's how AZ works. The feds will fine us a few hundred million, but will leave this POS drug on the market.

If the Feds really want to send a message to AZ, instead of a simple fine and yet another Corporate Integrity Agreement, they should pull the drug from the market. THAT will get their attention!

This poster is correct except that Seroquel brought in billions of dollars per year and the fines barely dented the profits.

On the other hand, Brilinta is loosing massive amounts of money every day. It only brings in a very small fraction of the money AZ spends on it. Figure in the compensation packages for the excessive number Cardiovascular specialty reps of all stripes who sell it, promotional expenses and manufacturing costs, and they dwarf the $18 million per quarter US sales are generating. This drug is going nowhere. Even the boneheads running AZ realize Brilinta is never going to turn a justifiable profit so keeping the drug is probably not a real option. They just went on a hiring rampage, dumped tens of millions more into the drug and got a paltry $2 million increase over the previous quarter. Increased share of voice has failed and the upward trend was not only insignificant but will probably be reversed by the DoJ investigation.

At this point they are looking at at least two scenarios. Ride out the investigation assuming that they can minimize the damage and get an acceptable price for Brilinta from another company or cut their losses and pull what has been widely acknowledged to be a colossal dud. The question is how much will they loose in keeping the drug running until the DoJ investigation is resolved versus just letting it go. I assure you that they are weighing this as they refine the probabilities in their decision trees. Smart management would probably try to salvage some small amount of integrity with a voluntary withdrawal, but then again...

 

[Anonymous]

This poster is correct except that Seroquel brought in billions of dollars per year and the fines barely dented the profits.

On the other hand, Brilinta is loosing massive amounts of money every day. It only brings in a very small fraction of the money AZ spends on it. Figure in the compensation packages for the excessive number Cardiovascular specialty reps of all stripes who sell it, promotional expenses and manufacturing costs, and they dwarf the $18 million per quarter US sales are generating. This drug is going nowhere. Even the boneheads running AZ realize Brilinta is never going to turn a justifiable profit so keeping the drug is probably not a real option. They just went on a hiring rampage, dumped tens of millions more into the drug and got a paltry $2 million increase over the previous quarter. Increased share of voice has failed and the upward trend was not only insignificant but will probably be reversed by the DoJ investigation.

At this point they are looking at at least two scenarios. Ride out the investigation assuming that they can minimize the damage and get an acceptable price for Brilinta from another company or cut their losses and pull what has been widely acknowledged to be a colossal dud. The question is how much will they loose in keeping the drug running until the DoJ investigation is resolved versus just letting it go. I assure you that they are weighing this as they refine the probabilities in their decision trees. Smart management would probably try to salvage some small amount of integrity with a voluntary withdrawal, but then again...

The quarterly earnings report just stated the Brilinta did $75 million worldwide. That is $300 million a year and obviously growth will continue. This product will not be dumped!

 

[Anonymous]

This poster is correct except that Seroquel brought in billions of dollars per year and the fines barely dented the profits.

On the other hand, Brilinta is loosing massive amounts of money every day. It only brings in a very small fraction of the money AZ spends on it. Figure in the compensation packages for the excessive number Cardiovascular specialty reps of all stripes who sell it, promotional expenses and manufacturing costs, and they dwarf the $18 million per quarter US sales are generating. This drug is going nowhere. Even the boneheads running AZ realize Brilinta is never going to turn a justifiable profit so keeping the drug is probably not a real option. They just went on a hiring rampage, dumped tens of millions more into the drug and got a paltry $2 million increase over the previous quarter. Increased share of voice has failed and the upward trend was not only insignificant but will probably be reversed by the DoJ investigation.

At this point they are looking at at least two scenarios. Ride out the investigation assuming that they can minimize the damage and get an acceptable price for Brilinta from another company or cut their losses and pull what has been widely acknowledged to be a colossal dud. The question is how much will they loose in keeping the drug running until the DoJ investigation is resolved versus just letting it go. I assure you that they are weighing this as they refine the probabilities in their decision trees. Smart management would probably try to salvage some small amount of integrity with a voluntary withdrawal, but then again...

Thank you. That was an insightful post. It will be interesting to see whether AZ rides this investigation out with the DoJ, or as you say, cuts losses and pulls Brilinta to escape what could potentially be very bad PR with Brilinta stalling even further. There is also the aspect of saving face and putting up a fight, not to mention the fact that every bit of profit is needed to lessen the upcoming cliff. AZ is in a pickle.

 

[Anonymous]

This poster is correct except that Seroquel brought in billions of dollars per year and the fines barely dented the profits.

On the other hand, Brilinta is loosing massive amounts of money every day. It only brings in a very small fraction of the money AZ spends on it. Figure in the compensation packages for the excessive number Cardiovascular specialty reps of all stripes who sell it, promotional expenses and manufacturing costs, and they dwarf the $18 million per quarter US sales are generating. This drug is going nowhere. Even the boneheads running AZ realize Brilinta is never going to turn a justifiable profit so keeping the drug is probably not a real option. They just went on a hiring rampage, dumped tens of millions more into the drug and got a paltry $2 million increase over the previous quarter. Increased share of voice has failed and the upward trend was not only insignificant but will probably be reversed by the DoJ investigation.

At this point they are looking at at least two scenarios. Ride out the investigation assuming that they can minimize the damage and get an acceptable price for Brilinta from another company or cut their losses and pull what has been widely acknowledged to be a colossal dud. The question is how much will they loose in keeping the drug running until the DoJ investigation is resolved versus just letting it go. I assure you that they are weighing this as they refine the probabilities in their decision trees. Smart management would probably try to salvage some small amount of integrity with a voluntary withdrawal, but then again...

OP here. Well written and excellent post. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I think you sum up Soriot's options perfectly.

 

[Anonymous]

OP here. Well written and excellent post. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I think you sum up Soriot's options perfectly.

"Loosing". Sheer genius.

 

[Anonymous]

OP here. Well it looks like the Frenchman has made his mind up and decided not to pull this drug. What was I thinking? Senior management at AZ doing the right thing?

 

[Anonymous]

AZ has had plenty of experience in the area of playing dirty so they will work extremely hard to get an acceptable fine that still gives room to market the drug. Regardless, this drug is a dog. Why do you think there has been only minimal uptake? Physicians as well as insurance companies see that there are few if any advantages but yet AZ priced it as if it was gold. Mark my words this will NEVER reach blockbuster status. Pascal will leave because he was not involved in this, is beginning to question the wisdom coming here and already got his HELLO bonus

 

[Anonymous]

AZ has had plenty of experience in the area of playing dirty so they will work extremely hard to get an acceptable fine that still gives room to market the drug. Regardless, this drug is a dog. Why do you think there has been only minimal uptake? Physicians as well as insurance companies see that there are few if any advantages but yet AZ priced it as if it was gold. Mark my words this will NEVER reach blockbuster status. Pascal will leave because he was not involved in this, is beginning to question the wisdom coming here and already got his HELLO bonus

DOA. B will be pulled from the market due rigged PLATO trial.

 

[Anonymous]

DOA. B will be pulled from the market due rigged PLATO trial.

Says you. AZ has nothing to lose by sticking it out but everything to lose by pulling out now. Soriot is the one who put in more resources in an effort to break Brilinta's slow trend. Not saying it's impossible the drug could be pulled, but it's far too early yet to tell how this will play out. Will the U.S and E.U investigations hurt momentum? Without a doubt.

 

[Anonymous]

How about we do what's right for the patient? Pull it now and we could actually create some good will by having integrity.

 

[Anonymous]

Every day AZ allows this drug on the market kills the reputation of this company a little more. With this investigation out there...if you were a physician would you prescribe it to your patients? I think not. Would you want your mother or grandmother on this drug? I think not. Ethics have left this industry and particularly this company. It's time to bring Ethics back if it is at all possible. Pull the damn drug Pascal. Do the right thing. I'm with the OP on this one.

 

[Anonymous]

I see many, many more hours of CIA training and modules in your future! Pay a fine and click the forward arrow to advance through on-going "INTEGRITY" slides. Enjoy!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

How about we do what's right for the patient? Pull it now and we could actually create some good will by having integrity.

Gee whiz, haven't you been listing to the messaging? It's only been played over, and over, and over, and...over. Brilinta IS what's right for the patient. It's the OTHER stuff that's wanting.

 

[Anonymous]

AZ has had plenty of experience in the area of playing dirty so they will work extremely hard to get an acceptable fine that still gives room to market the drug. Regardless, this drug is a dog. Why do you think there has been only minimal uptake? Physicians as well as insurance companies see that there are few if any advantages but yet AZ priced it as if it was gold. Mark my words this will NEVER reach blockbuster status. Pascal will leave because he was not involved in this, is beginning to question the wisdom coming here and already got his HELLO bonus

Think for a sec...

Frenchie gets a paycheck every two weeks, after taxes, of about $100,000.00. That's conservative. He gets plenty more.

You like your paycheck, right? You want to quit, but don't because of the paycheck.

Do you think for a second that the man is so rich that he doesn't care? Martha Stewart, a billionaire, WENT TO JAIL for $40,000.00. Don't think for a second that greed can cure itself. It is like any other pathogen. It infects, multiplies, and takes over its host until it kills it.