Thanks for the input. I'm not trying to be snide, but I am an unemployed pharma rep. I am going to apply to Enterprise tomorrow.
At this point, a job is a job is a job.
At this point, a job is a job is a job.
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Embarrassed to be in pharma
- Thread starter Anonymous
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I am on the brink of a device job and am concerned that my 4 years of pharma will make me a worse device rep than I would have been otherwise.
I'm smart, aggressive, and not hesitant to close. What advice do you have for me to develop my sales skills for device in a manner that I never would have learned in pharma?
Stated another way, how can I learn the skills you developed in copier sales before I get into device?
Well, technically copier sales and pharma sales are almost identical - both medically related. Thats why moron managers hire ex copier,car,soapsuds,tire, salemen,lol!!! Thats also why many pharma reps are being benned from docs offices today!!!
Perhaps you could look at Pfizer as a shining example of ethical pharma sales too:
Pfizer Paid for Doc's Helicopter in Off-Label Geodon Push, Suit Claims
By Jim Edwards | Sep 17, 2009
ShareEmailDiggFacebookTwitterGoogleDeliciousStumbleUponNewsvineLinkedInMy YahooTechnoratiRedditPrintRecommend0Pfizer paid a doctor $4,000 a day to promote the antipsychotic Geodon and expensed his use of a private helicopter to get to off-label speaking events, according a whistleblower lawsuit that was part of the $2.3 billion Bextra settlement.
Pfizer said in a statement:
Pfizer denies all federal, state and qui tam allegations, with two exceptions. We acknowledge certain improper actions related to the past promotion of Bextra and Zyvox. Beyond those two exceptions we deny all federal and state and qui tam claims.
The suit was brought by Mark R. Westlock of Fenton, Mo., was a rep for Pfizer from 1991 to 2007, when he claims he was forced to resign. (Download Westlock v. Pfizer here.) He alleges that Dr. Neil S. Kaye of Wilmington, Del., an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College, received $4,000 a day in speaker fees to talk to other doctors about “the off label use of Geodon® in adolescents,” among other issues. He was used so frequently by Pfizer that he was flown by ‘copter to some of his gigs, Westlock claims:
(Click to enlarge.)
The top image is from Kaye’s own website. He details his interest in helicopters here and here and here.
Some of Kaye’s material was sent to Pfizer pharmaceutical sales representatives under the heading “take home selling points.” The material within that package was also labelled “do not detail,” ostensibly because it covered off-label material. But Westlock claims that everyone knew they were to use it in their sales pitches because the email would not have been titled “take home selling points” if they were not in fact selling points.
Thank you for giving an answer that had nothing to do with the question
Perhaps the poster was referring to unqualified sales reps being related to huckster selling by Pfizer.
I wonder if the women who shacked with the slimeball Astra boss made their quota,lol,lol?
http://industry.bnet.com/pharma/100...arassment-reps-share-memories-of-bonkers-ceo/
Pfizer Pays Record $1.3 Billion Penalty for Drug Misbranding
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By Cary O’Reilly
Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- A unit of Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, was sentenced to pay $1.3 billion in penalties for misbranding medicines, including the largest criminal fine ever imposed in the U.S.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock in Boston ordered Pfizer’s Pharmacia & Upjohn unit to pay a $1.2 billion criminal fine and forfeit $105 million, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks said in a statement.
The fine, over sales practices for a painkiller since pulled from the market, is the biggest piece of a record $2.3 billion settlement announced last month between the U.S. Justice Department and New York-based Pfizer. The deal includes $1 billion in civil penalties, the largest non-criminal fraud case against a drugmaker, the Justice Department said.
The criminal case revolved around allegations that the painkiller Bextra and three other medicines were promoted for uses other than those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The government, which pays for medicines through several health programs, started a criminal probe after private whistleblowers filed lawsuits in three states.
The four-year investigation uncovered a range of practices, including kickback payments to doctors in the sale of nine other drugs, among them the impotence drug Viagra and cholesterol pill Lipitor, officials said.
Pfizer, which had $48.3 billion in revenue last year, reported in January that it took a fourth-quarter charge of $2.3 billion to cover the preliminary agreement. The company has said it would have no additional charges from the case.
“Today’s hearing is the last step in a process to bring final closure to the settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that was announced on Sept. 2, 2009,” the New York-based company said yesterday in a statement.
Pfizer gained 11 cents to $17.77 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have risen 5.1 percent over the past year.
The lead civil case is Collins v. Pfizer Inc., 04-11780, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).
To contact the reporters responsible for this story: Cary O’Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 17, 2009 00:01 EDT
200 pharma whistleblowers in line for court
By tracy
Created Nov 6 2009 - 12:20pm
Think Big Pharma has been plagued by whistleblower lawsuits lately? You ain't seen nothin' yet, legal eagles say. Yes, 2009 appears to be the year of the False Claims Act, that federal law that allows whistleblowers to sue--and collect a share of any eventual settlement. After all, the government has announced settlements of more than $4 billion in off-label drug marketing claims, and another trial is already underway.
But there are hundreds more pharma whistleblowers waiting in the wings. There's a backlog of 1,000 cases at the Department of Justice, and drugmakers are involved in 200 of them. "The seeds for these cases were planted a number of years ago, and they're finally coming to fruition," Reuben Guttman, a Washington lawyer who specializes in whistleblower cases, told Gannett.
And if history is any guide to the outcome of those cases, pharma could be in for trouble. Of the top 20 False Claims Act cases in terms of money recovered, 12 included settlements or judgments against drug companies.
PhRMA, the drugmakers' trade group, tried to put a brave face on things in a statement to Gannett: "It's not completely unexpected that the cases would be filed in waves as the government wraps up a group of investigations. And publicity in one case can spawn others." No doubt, especially when some whistleblowers have personally walked away with millions. In any case, we can expect more of this kind of news as the backlogged suits make their way into the light of day.
- get the Gannett analysis [1]
ALSO: The recently settled Omnicare kickback case includes one elderly patient who received 67 different drugs from the nursing home pharmacy. Report [2]
Related Articles:
States accuse Amgen of Aranesp kickbacks [3]
Pfizer settlement funds whistleblower program [4]
Whistleblower tags Amgen with marketing suit [5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source URL:
http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/200-pharma-whistleblowers-line-court/2009-11-06
Links:
[1] http://www.app.com/article/20091104...find+whistle-blowing+a+bitter+pill+to+swallow
[2] http://industry.bnet.com/pharma/100...67-different-drugs/?tag=content;load-all-news
[3] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/states-accuse-amgen-aranesp-kickbacks/2009-11-02
[4] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/florida-incents-whistleblowers/2009-09-17
[5] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/whistleblower-tags-amgen-marketing-suit/2009-03-02
A doctor friend told me recently that a rep who called on him says his (reps) company will begin to only hire PROFESSIONAL people after first of year. By that he means someone who has a clue about healthcare like nurses, biology/chemistry majors, PT techs,etc. The national sales mgr, who was a real huckster and pushed reps to be hucksters, was fired. Guess the car and computer sales types will be persona non grata,lol.
And we all know that doctors know it all and are so fucking smart.
They are some of the most corrupt people going, and you think we are bad.
Doctors are losers for the most part.
Drug Dumper
Well-Known Member
Ya, they are going to hire those that have little or no interpersonal skills, minimal work ethic, and no drive.
Most doctors just their jollies off of insurance companies and they don't do shit for their patients anyway other than schedule useless appointments for more money.
Keep making fun of drug reps, but those of us that know the truth don't care what you think, be that doctors or fat nurses or an xray tech that thinks we don't do shit all day or that biology major who can't complete a sentence or "deal with people" without having a nervous breakdown.
Its time for reps to stand up and stand up to this bullshit.
Drug Dumper
Well-Known Member
- Drug Dumper Dec 30, 2009 at 04:31: PM
Drug Dumper
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, the reps have zero say-so in this. Companies will continue to blame the rep for low numbers, not any external factors, such as coverage or access. I believe there ARE docs out there that really value us; just not enough to tip the scales. The sad part of all is that WE are the ones who greased the pockets of both the companies and the docs.
Re: Embarrassed to be in pharma GOT LEGAL?
"After the sales and marketing hucksters took over from ethical management , the industry has gone down the tubes."
What? ethical mismanagement in pharma?? You don't say... lol
It's more than embarrassing to say I work for pharma. It's downright hypocritical and I'm ashamed. The way we've treated our employees, lied to the public, and wasted money while people scrimp away trying to afford their medications and decide which bill they can't pay this month. Meanwhile, we lay off thousands while our CEO gets a brand new waterfront property, his yearly bonus and millions in salary he didn't earn... but blame it solely on the economy when in reality we just seriously lack innovation and he's running the company into the ground. It's just become a place where people can lie, act in bad faith, scam, twist, and abuse with a stamp of approval.
I'm digusted so I look for jobs but they're hard to come by. And now, to save a little lay-off dough and to stick the knife a little harder in my back cause I won't kiss ass and I won't go along with the status quo, I'm being pushed out.
So I just got a lawyer and we'll see how that turns out.
The good news is that the company's reputation will continue to flounder, they'll continue to lose customers by the droves, I will be out of this industry (one way or another) and I'll be able to redeem my soul... I hope.
"After the sales and marketing hucksters took over from ethical management , the industry has gone down the tubes."
What? ethical mismanagement in pharma?? You don't say... lol
It's more than embarrassing to say I work for pharma. It's downright hypocritical and I'm ashamed. The way we've treated our employees, lied to the public, and wasted money while people scrimp away trying to afford their medications and decide which bill they can't pay this month. Meanwhile, we lay off thousands while our CEO gets a brand new waterfront property, his yearly bonus and millions in salary he didn't earn... but blame it solely on the economy when in reality we just seriously lack innovation and he's running the company into the ground. It's just become a place where people can lie, act in bad faith, scam, twist, and abuse with a stamp of approval.
I'm digusted so I look for jobs but they're hard to come by. And now, to save a little lay-off dough and to stick the knife a little harder in my back cause I won't kiss ass and I won't go along with the status quo, I'm being pushed out.
So I just got a lawyer and we'll see how that turns out.
The good news is that the company's reputation will continue to flounder, they'll continue to lose customers by the droves, I will be out of this industry (one way or another) and I'll be able to redeem my soul... I hope.
Originally Posted by Anonymous
"A doctor friend told me recently that a rep who called on him says his (reps) company will begin to only hire PROFESSIONAL people after first of year. By that he means someone who has a clue about healthcare like nurses, biology/chemistry majors, PT techs,etc. The national sales mgr, who was a real huckster and pushed reps to be hucksters, was fired. Guess the car and computer sales types will be persona non grata,lol"
Funny, that was exactly what we were doing when I joined the industry many years ago. Things seem to go in cycles. I am retired and glad of it, Not much fun in the job any more. I think it was a 20 th century job and is becoming obsolete as needs change. When I was a kid we had people operating elevators. Then there was no need anymore. Same is happening to the traditional pharma rep.
"A doctor friend told me recently that a rep who called on him says his (reps) company will begin to only hire PROFESSIONAL people after first of year. By that he means someone who has a clue about healthcare like nurses, biology/chemistry majors, PT techs,etc. The national sales mgr, who was a real huckster and pushed reps to be hucksters, was fired. Guess the car and computer sales types will be persona non grata,lol"
Funny, that was exactly what we were doing when I joined the industry many years ago. Things seem to go in cycles. I am retired and glad of it, Not much fun in the job any more. I think it was a 20 th century job and is becoming obsolete as needs change. When I was a kid we had people operating elevators. Then there was no need anymore. Same is happening to the traditional pharma rep.
Re: Embarrassed to be in pharma GOT LEGAL?
Good thing you posted this anonymously - otherwise your lawyer would not be able to help you after writing something like this about your job. I certainly hope you haven't said any of this to any co-workers.
Good thing you posted this anonymously - otherwise your lawyer would not be able to help you after writing something like this about your job. I certainly hope you haven't said any of this to any co-workers.
Re: Embarrassed to be in pharma GOT LEGAL?
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/01/04/scrutiny-of-drug-industry-gifts-to-docs-goes-global/
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/01/04/scrutiny-of-drug-industry-gifts-to-docs-goes-global/
The most idiotic hire I've seen or heard of, is the moron manager in Atlanta who hired the UPS driver as a rep because he had a "good personality" as shown by his interactions with the company HQ front desk people,lol,lol. This dumbass of a manager must have been an ex UPS package sorter brfore his equally dumb boss hired him,lol.
Well, after all we do the same job as the UPS driver-he drops packages to docs office and we drop packages to docs office,lol.
Consumers are catching on to the tricks of the drug industry though and getting fed up as seen in following post:
Just last night had to watch "four hour erection" shit from Eli Lilly and Cialias vie CBS whores (60 Mins) who will take money from any sleazy company. More and more poeple are fed up with pharma hucksters as seen in this letter to editor:
Drug industry running a game (letter headline)
"The pharma ind. has a very low regard for the intelligence of the av. physician. That is evident in their commercials appealing to the public to help their drs. make decisions re their health.
The ads assume that a physician is a dummy who does not remember what he learned, does not read journals and does not listen to or understand the co rep when he visits.
Pharm cos spend millions and possibly billions running these commercials, but they are not spending their money. They are spending your money. Check the price of your medicines when you renew your Rx , and you will find an increase in price every time or every second time. If the cos are not dumb and the docs are not dumb, that leaves only you and me who are the dummies" "IB" Atlanta"
(I shortened a few words from orig post on another board)
It is the truth spoken from another fed up drug consumer. Will the dumbassed pharma mgt. listen? Don't hold your breath!