EMSA OF THE FUTURE

Quote
Anonymous said:
To my friends and colleagues here are the reasons why Dr. Murray continues to survive....truth be said, our top management has checked out and is failing.

Realistic Assessment:
Merck needs a true messenger with credibility and trust. Currently there is no trust capital left and lets make a case and point, this is not the right team to do battle nor to turn things around. Honestly, it is beyond their capacity. We are back to dealing with consultants. A sign that managements does not know or understands their own business. Situation complicated by too many arrogant losers with bad track record in high management positions (legacy of Vioxx). It is not just about one event, it is an emerging pattern and series of missteps and poor decision making at the top. Current management team is rotting and dysfunctional on all fronts. Too much infighting and back stabbing, analysis paralysis and lets not forget the famous Merck bureaucracy and lack of objectivity, accountability and cover up of bad practices. Yes there is no accountability at the top. And yes, MRL and senior management have got the science wrong which cannot be forgiven. Take research for instance Dr. Kim and team cannot read the tea leaves from the FDA and one has to say he is an abject failure (Arcoxia was to be a sure thing....20 to 1 no decision, totally missed the call on Cordaptive). Obviously there is a fundamental fatal flaw in the research program they are missing the point that it is all about the delivery of effective safe medicines. Look at the vaccine area they cannot manufacture their products to needed capacity and have quality control problem. Estimated to be a $500 Millon debacle. The manufacturing area is a disaster. EPA citations on environmental hazard. Sales marketing and business decision making are totally a dismal. Public affairs disaster with Enhance. What were they thinking. Yes it is true the press, congress, and our customers do not like Merck and pharma in large part due to the DTC and Vioxx debacle has changed the whole playing field and put the industry into a defensive posture. Add to that the Company is under siege from the Feds and regulators. Subject to a new Compliance program agreement. Litigation expenses continue (frazier may have saved the company but the misery and work environment sucks). Physician offices have signs saying Merck reps not welcomed. We are in the business of selling medicines and not defending about lies and sharing nice platitudes (patients come first, SURE...SHOW ME) raises serious doubts that Merck will survive. Top employees have no reason to stay and Merck resumes are flooding the market and this is a far short of the Merck we once used to be. Mr. Clark and team have squandered the core values of trust and credibility. It is a shameful disappointment to be an employee of once greatly admired company we called Merck. Cannot imagine that Mr. Clark has lowered the current standards even lower than that of Mr. Gilmartin’s legacy. What is surprising that even with 35 plus years of service Clark has no connectivity with the grass roots of the company. One would think employees would trust him since he is one of us. Obviously, he is not connected to reality of the magnitude of the disaster with employee apathy and lack interest and resolve top save the company have set in. So far his new programs beyond cost cutting and to improve the companies integration and functionality (COMET/E2E) are failing. Decision making is back in the hands of idiots who defer it back to committees which compound the problem of indecison making. Mr. Clark has forgotten his first speech after the Gilmartins departure. For lesson sake read it for notes and that he received a standing ovation from the employees. Took the eye of the ball and has lost the culture war to facilitate and bring change. Pre Enhance stock price run up can be summed up as a MIRAGE and not based on reality of what the company was truly capable of delivering. On all counts Clark and team are emerging as a failure. Expect management spin that the industry and the economy are obvious excuses. I beg to differ, this is a Merck internal problem.
What is unacceptable is that hundreds of millions were spent on the 3 phases of trial for Cordaptive and we received FDA rejection letter and disapproval on even the name. Mr. Clark there must be accountability for what went wrong with Enhance, Cordaptive, MVD, Manufacturing, sales/marketing, and ....!
Serious doubts that Merck has the board and management team to survive. We have 7 large worldwide Pharma companies. I do not think Merck will be in the top tier position in the next 3 to 5 years. A small nimble effective company is all that we can wish for.
To all the colleagues in EMSA lets work together smartly to survive, remain sane and help the company do well.
Good luck!
Click to expand...

This is a very interesting read and sounds like it comes from someone with a realistic grasp of the problem(s) at Merck. Management reveals their incompetence and disability/dysfunction through the level of threat, anxiety, and fear felt by rank and file employees. As the quoted post accurately points out, there is no trust or confidence in the management representing Merck, whether one is an employee or general public observer.
 






the saddest and most accurate post: we have all checked out.

whats really bad about it is that there are so many people at levels which are too low to be listened to, who really care about the company and see not only their meal-tickets but also a once respected company go down the toilet. Merck used to be an enviable place to work, if you were lucky enough to be hired, you were in a very good position. something happened and the culture turned in to one where bad decisions were made, many people knew it, and if you dared to challenge (remember ed skolnick?) you were history. Now we have people making decisions in a culture where they ask for info, and everyone is afraid to tell the truth so decisions are made based on false info, this is the cultural underpinnings upon which this company is floundering. I do not know what it will take to fix, but here is what I do know:

1. if there is going to be meaningful change at Merck, those who have created the culture of fear must go. I don't know all of them, there are many, and they all need to be canned. Otherwise the culture will never change.

2. we have lots of work to do to repair our reputation and that should be our number one priority. we need to repair it with both the internal and external customer. Merck employees must believe this is a great place to work. There has to be more than words. This company is good at talking the talk but we can't seem to actually walk the walk.

3. we have to start being honest and take responsibility for our past mistakes, we have to publically acknowledge them and apologize for them. We have to stop claiming to have been the victim of the media, the public the politicians, and everyone else. We need to grow up and say I am sorry and we have learned from it and here is what we are doing differently.

We need to check back in or we are screwed, all of us out of our jobs, and or retirement and all the good Merck has given us.

I am really hoping by this fall to hear some news of big changes. if that doesn't happen, this company has no hope, because we sure as hell don't have alot of time.
 






Anonymous said:
To my friends and colleagues here are the reasons why Dr. Murray continues to survive....truth be said, our top management has checked out and is failing.

Realistic Assessment:
Merck needs a true messenger with credibility and trust. Currently there is no trust capital left and lets make a case and point, this is not the right team to do battle nor to turn things around. Honestly, it is beyond their capacity. We are back to dealing with consultants. A sign that managements does not know or understands their own business. Situation complicated by too many arrogant losers with bad track record in high management positions (legacy of Vioxx). It is not just about one event, it is an emerging pattern and series of missteps and poor decision making at the top. Current management team is rotting and dysfunctional on all fronts. Too much infighting and back stabbing, analysis paralysis and lets not forget the famous Merck bureaucracy and lack of objectivity, accountability and cover up of bad practices. Yes there is no accountability at the top. And yes, MRL and senior management have got the science wrong which cannot be forgiven. Take research for instance Dr. Kim and team cannot read the tea leaves from the FDA and one has to say he is an abject failure (Arcoxia was to be a sure thing....20 to 1 no decision, totally missed the call on Cordaptive). Obviously there is a fundamental fatal flaw in the research program they are missing the point that it is all about the delivery of effective safe medicines. Look at the vaccine area they cannot manufacture their products to needed capacity and have quality control problem. Estimated to be a $500 Millon debacle. The manufacturing area is a disaster. EPA citations on environmental hazard. Sales marketing and business decision making are totally a dismal. Public affairs disaster with Enhance. What were they thinking. Yes it is true the press, congress, and our customers do not like Merck and pharma in large part due to the DTC and Vioxx debacle has changed the whole playing field and put the industry into a defensive posture. Add to that the Company is under siege from the Feds and regulators. Subject to a new Compliance program agreement. Litigation expenses continue (frazier may have saved the company but the misery and work environment sucks). Physician offices have signs saying Merck reps not welcomed. We are in the business of selling medicines and not defending about lies and sharing nice platitudes (patients come first, SURE...SHOW ME) raises serious doubts that Merck will survive. Top employees have no reason to stay and Merck resumes are flooding the market and this is a far short of the Merck we once used to be. Mr. Clark and team have squandered the core values of trust and credibility. It is a shameful disappointment to be an employee of once greatly admired company we called Merck. Cannot imagine that Mr. Clark has lowered the current standards even lower than that of Mr. Gilmartin’s legacy. What is surprising that even with 35 plus years of service Clark has no connectivity with the grass roots of the company. One would think employees would trust him since he is one of us. Obviously, he is not connected to reality of the magnitude of the disaster with employee apathy and lack interest and resolve top save the company have set in. So far his new programs beyond cost cutting and to improve the companies integration and functionality (COMET/E2E) are failing. Decision making is back in the hands of idiots who defer it back to committees which compound the problem of indecison making. Mr. Clark has forgotten his first speech after the Gilmartins departure. For lesson sake read it for notes and that he received a standing ovation from the employees. Took the eye of the ball and has lost the culture war to facilitate and bring change. Pre Enhance stock price run up can be summed up as a MIRAGE and not based on reality of what the company was truly capable of delivering. On all counts Clark and team are emerging as a failure. Expect management spin that the industry and the economy are obvious excuses. I beg to differ, this is a Merck internal problem.
What is unacceptable is that hundreds of millions were spent on the 3 phases of trial for Cordaptive and we received FDA rejection letter and disapproval on even the name. Mr. Clark there must be accountability for what went wrong with Enhance, Cordaptive, MVD, Manufacturing, sales/marketing, and ....!
Serious doubts that Merck has the board and management team to survive. We have 7 large worldwide Pharma companies. I do not think Merck will be in the top tier position in the next 3 to 5 years. A small nimble effective company is all that we can wish for.
To all the colleagues in EMSA lets work together smartly to survive, remain sane and help the company do well.
Good luck!
Click to expand...

These are good thoughts from someone who understands the current Merck situation. As colleagues we must band and work together even under these poor management practices or we will join the ranks of has been. So lets check in!
 












All of which leads to the question-how can an upward age indication for Gardasil (with all of the positive efficacy data) be 'delayed' at the FDA after receiving a priority review? We must be completely out of touch.
 






Anonymous said:
To my friends and colleagues here are the reasons why Dr. Murray continues to survive....truth be said, our top management has checked out and is failing.

Realistic Assessment:
Merck needs a true messenger with credibility and trust. Currently there is no trust capital left and lets make a case and point, this is not the right team to do battle nor to turn things around. Honestly, it is beyond their capacity. We are back to dealing with consultants. A sign that managements does not know or understands their own business. Situation complicated by too many arrogant losers with bad track record in high management positions (legacy of Vioxx). It is not just about one event, it is an emerging pattern and series of missteps and poor decision making at the top. Current management team is rotting and dysfunctional on all fronts. Too much infighting and back stabbing, analysis paralysis and lets not forget the famous Merck bureaucracy and lack of objectivity, accountability and cover up of bad practices. Yes there is no accountability at the top. And yes, MRL and senior management have got the science wrong which cannot be forgiven. Take research for instance Dr. Kim and team cannot read the tea leaves from the FDA and one has to say he is an abject failure (Arcoxia was to be a sure thing....20 to 1 no decision, totally missed the call on Cordaptive). Obviously there is a fundamental fatal flaw in the research program they are missing the point that it is all about the delivery of effective safe medicines. Look at the vaccine area they cannot manufacture their products to needed capacity and have quality control problem. Estimated to be a $500 Millon debacle. The manufacturing area is a disaster. EPA citations on environmental hazard. Sales marketing and business decision making are totally a dismal. Public affairs disaster with Enhance. What were they thinking. Yes it is true the press, congress, and our customers do not like Merck and pharma in large part due to the DTC and Vioxx debacle has changed the whole playing field and put the industry into a defensive posture. Add to that the Company is under siege from the Feds and regulators. Subject to a new Compliance program agreement. Litigation expenses continue (frazier may have saved the company but the misery and work environment sucks). Physician offices have signs saying Merck reps not welcomed. We are in the business of selling medicines and not defending about lies and sharing nice platitudes (patients come first, SURE...SHOW ME) raises serious doubts that Merck will survive. Top employees have no reason to stay and Merck resumes are flooding the market and this is a far short of the Merck we once used to be. Mr. Clark and team have squandered the core values of trust and credibility. It is a shameful disappointment to be an employee of once greatly admired company we called Merck. Cannot imagine that Mr. Clark has lowered the current standards even lower than that of Mr. Gilmartin’s legacy. What is surprising that even with 35 plus years of service Clark has no connectivity with the grass roots of the company. One would think employees would trust him since he is one of us. Obviously, he is not connected to reality of the magnitude of the disaster with employee apathy and lack interest and resolve top save the company have set in. So far his new programs beyond cost cutting and to improve the companies integration and functionality (COMET/E2E) are failing. Decision making is back in the hands of idiots who defer it back to committees which compound the problem of indecison making. Mr. Clark has forgotten his first speech after the Gilmartins departure. For lesson sake read it for notes and that he received a standing ovation from the employees. Took the eye of the ball and has lost the culture war to facilitate and bring change. Pre Enhance stock price run up can be summed up as a MIRAGE and not based on reality of what the company was truly capable of delivering. On all counts Clark and team are emerging as a failure. Expect management spin that the industry and the economy are obvious excuses. I beg to differ, this is a Merck internal problem.
What is unacceptable is that hundreds of millions were spent on the 3 phases of trial for Cordaptive and we received FDA rejection letter and disapproval on even the name. Mr. Clark there must be accountability for what went wrong with Enhance, Cordaptive, MVD, Manufacturing, sales/marketing, and ....!
Serious doubts that Merck has the board and management team to survive. We have 7 large worldwide Pharma companies. I do not think Merck will be in the top tier position in the next 3 to 5 years. A small nimble effective company is all that we can wish for.
To all the colleagues in EMSA lets work together smartly to survive, remain sane and help the company do well.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
As employees we have the responsibility and right to call management to the carpet - why is it that we are reducing management layers by 50% in the field and continue to have the bloated layers of management in headquarters. Too many sr drs reporting to sr drs, ex dir reporting to ex dir, vps to vps. Look there are some areas have 9-12 layers of management that will touch an issue. So stop harping on accountability, leadership, and results, when management is not held to the same standards? Come out and be honest that we must right size the company so we can grow revenue. Develop object criteria that make sense and transparency to all. Clark started that way and lost this agenda. That is how we have to survive. It is about quarter to quarter growth.
I can't believe the so called yahoos get away with spewing forth the mantra of change and getting back to greatness (mindless dreams) when they refuse to admit how much they have screwed up - you have lost the respect and trust. Clark's team of decision makers are mentally incompetetent, arrogant bunch of IDIOTS!
Recommendation – get rid of stupid consultants that create just work and fire the losers making 500-600K/year flying around repeating stupid messages - hold accountable the individuals for Enhance, Cordaptive, vaccine shortages have all occured on the watch of these idiots. Come out an admit you have made mistakes. Hurry up and give these idiots their enhanced separation packages and end our misery.
And yes, get rid of the so called metric mongers who bet so much on reach and frequency and then negatively affected sales growth with our busy work metrics - you know who you are, right Bob M. Adam S. Tom C and Jo J and Jan N and Jim….lets call them the idiot factor.
 






Anonymous said:
And yes, get rid of the so called metric mongers who bet so much on reach and frequency and then negatively affected sales growth with our busy work metrics - you know who you are, right Bob M. Adam S. Tom C and Jo J and Jan N and Jim….lets call them the idiot factor.
Click to expand...

So these are the bastards who declared war on their own company's sales force? If so, they should face a heaping dose of their own medicine. TC's NCM is Dilbert on steroids. Let's have our agents of change or change agents work on Merck culture initiatives with representatives. That alone should give anyone all they need to know about Merck culture. Relying on these management clowns responsible for destroying Merck's culture also tells the tale of Merck culture. Pathologic. Sick. Lost. Disturbed. Whenever a company feels the need to use precious resources to define their culture, listen carefully and you will hear Twilight Zone music for that is exactly where you are. Merck culture=Merck trust=Merck status. ZERO. Nothing. Lost. It is impossible to create something out of nothing unless you are Almighty God. Merck's management clowns may act as though they think they are but the recent outcomes present the honest picture of Merck culture.
 






Anonymous said:
As employees we have the responsibility and right to call management to the carpet - why is it that we are reducing management layers by 50% in the field and continue to have the bloated layers of management in headquarters. Too many sr drs reporting to sr drs, ex dir reporting to ex dir, vps to vps. Look there are some areas have 9-12 layers of management that will touch an issue. So stop harping on accountability, leadership, and results, when management is not held to the same standards? Come out and be honest that we must right size the company so we can grow revenue. Develop object criteria that make sense and transparency to all. Clark started that way and lost this agenda. That is how we have to survive. It is about quarter to quarter growth.
I can't believe the so called yahoos get away with spewing forth the mantra of change and getting back to greatness (mindless dreams) when they refuse to admit how much they have screwed up - you have lost the respect and trust. Clark's team of decision makers are mentally incompetetent, arrogant bunch of IDIOTS!
Recommendation – get rid of stupid consultants that create just work and fire the losers making 500-600K/year flying around repeating stupid messages - hold accountable the individuals for Enhance, Cordaptive, vaccine shortages have all occured on the watch of these idiots. Come out an admit you have made mistakes. Hurry up and give these idiots their enhanced separation packages and end our misery.
And yes, get rid of the so called metric mongers who bet so much on reach and frequency and then negatively affected sales growth with our busy work metrics - you know who you are, right Bob M. Adam S. Tom C and Jo J and Jan N and Jim….lets call them the idiot factor.
Click to expand...

You can add Todd N, LF,TM to the above list of metric mongers.
 






More stupid messages from Clark repeating the same bullshit....need more revenue, flexibility, and a change to a culture of fitness. More consulting jargon and bull. There is a saying understand your customers. Clark and managment have lost touch of reality. Merck is imploding and dysfunctional and there is talk about chasing revenue and fitness. We sure have a sick management causing a disease called do nothing syndrome. Time for Dr. Murray to get his team of doctors to manage and treat this illness.
 






Almost as bad as the NCM is the Merck Sigma crap. All these karate belt themes. Kaizen, Six Sigma, lean and flexible. Wasn't this pseudo-corporate-cult-crap popular with other Fortune 1000 companies a decade ago?
 






Anonymous said:
Almost as bad as the NCM is the Merck Sigma crap. All these karate belt themes. Kaizen, Six Sigma, lean and flexible. Wasn't this pseudo-corporate-cult-crap popular with other Fortune 1000 companies a decade ago?
Click to expand...

Clark stills has poker nite with the boys.
He is after all a senior citizen and wants to cut cost. Thats all he knows. He came from the widget side of the business and lacks understanding about people and medicines.
 






Anonymous said:
We have all checked out.
Click to expand...
.....again Merck being outplayed and what debate?

New Pfizer Lipitor Study Could Fuel Cholesterol-Drug Debate
Dow Jones
July 03, 2008: 01:04 PM EST

A study showing Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) cholesterol drug Lipitor was no better than a fake pill in slowing artery thickening has raised questions about the imaging technique used in that trial - and in a previous study that caused sales of rival drug Vytorin to fall.

The results of the so-called Cashmere study were unexpected because previous studies have shown that Lipitor, the world's best-selling prescription drug, reduces the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular events.

"The question is not the agent in this study because we know Lipitor works," BMO Capital Markets analyst Robert Hazlett said.

Instead, Hazlett said it raises questions about the reliability of the study's imaging technique when used in certain patient populations. Hazlett recently discovered the study's results on the Web site clinicalstudyresults.org and issued a research note about the trial Thursday.

Interestingly, the new Lipitor data provides ammunition to defenders of rival cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia, which are marketed by a joint venture of Merck & Co. (MRK) and Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP). The Cashmere study's design used the same imaging technique as the "Enhance" study of Vytorin, which showed Vytorin was no better than the statin drug simvastatin at slowing artery thickening.

Merck and Schering-Plough have defended Vytorin's effectiveness in lowering bad cholesterol levels, but prescription volumes for both Vytorin and Zetia have plummeted since Enhance results were released in January. Vytorin is a combination of Zetia and simvastatin.

In both studies, patients at the start of the trial had relatively low artery disease burden, possibly because of prior treatment with cholesterol drugs. That could help explain why the study drugs were unable to show a significant benefit as measured by an imaging technique known as carotid intima-media thickness, or CIMT, a noninvasive ultrasound test.

Merck recently discontinued a separate CIMT trial of an experimental cholesterol drug, MK-524A, saying the imaging technique wasn't appropriate for the study's patient population.

One key difference between Lipitor and Vytorin, however, is that there are still no data proving that Vytorin reduces the risk of heart attacks more than simvastatin alone, whereas Lipitor's benefit in that regard has been proven in past trials. A large trial designed to test Vytorin's effect on outcomes is several years away from completion.

Spokespeople for New York-based Pfizer couldn't immediately be reached Thursday morning.

Lipitor is crucial to Pfizer's fortunes. It generated $12.7 billion in sales last year, roughly one-fourth of total company revenue. Lipitor sales have been under pressure mainly because of the 2006 introduction of generic versions of simvastatin, which was previously a blockbuster drug for Merck under the brand Zocor.

Also, Pfizer recently halted television ads for Lipitor following criticism that the doctor featured in the ads wasn't licensed to practice. Pfizer recently agreed to settle patent litigation that is expected to keep generic Lipitor copycats off the U.S. market until 2011.

The Cashmere study evaluated the effect of Lipitor on CIMT in nearly 400 post- menopausal women with moderately high levels of bad cholesterol. Roughly half were given an 80-milligram dose of Lipitor - the highest available dose - daily for up to 12 months, and the other half took a fake pill, or placebo. Patients' artery thickness was measured at the beginning and end of treatment by CIMT tests.

The study found "no statistically significant treatment difference" between Lipitor and placebo in changes in artery thickness. Thickness increased 2.9% in the Lipitor group and 2.5% in the placebo group.

Lipitor did show a significant decrease in bad cholesterol levels versus placebo, however. People taking Lipitor experience side effects such as muscle pain and kidney infection. A higher percentage of Lipitor users discontinued treatment due to side effects than in the placebo group.

BMO's Hazlett noted that the patients in both the Enhance and Cashmere studies had relatively low artery thickness at the start of the trials, when compared to patients in some other CIMT trials.

Pfizer shares recently rose 7 cents to $17.69.

- By Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswires; +1-215-656-8289, peter.loftus@ dowjones.com
 






It is getting ugly day by day.

C is for contraction. C is also for convulsion. Both describe what pharma is experiencing these days. And the number of jobs being cut makes it all too clear. The trend - whether one calls it layoffs, restructuring, downsizing or reorganization - was under way a few years ago, of course, when Merck began eliminating thousands of jobs. But since early last year, the bloodletting has been particularly severe, which is only reinforced by the latest cuts by Wyeth and Schering-Plough. The list, by the way, includes both cuts recently made and those forthcoming.

Of course, C is also for collateral damage. This list doesn’t count all the layoffs in the supporting industries and vendors: advertising agencies, marketing companies, med-ed agencies, printing companies, mail houses, and venues for education and promotional meetings. As one reader reminded us last year - imagine the layoffs at companies that provided all the pens, coffee cups, clocks, notepads, baseball caps, tote bags, and backpacks that are given to docs. To quote that loyal reader: “This is not your father’s pharma industry, and never will be again.”

Have we forgotten anyone? Please tell us, because we will update:

1. Pfizer - 10,000 jobs
2. AstraZeneca - 7,600 jobs
3. Bayer - 6,100 jobs
4. Schering-Plough - 5,500 jobs
5. Wyeth - 5,000 jobs
6. Johnson & Johnson - 5,000 jobs
7. Bristol-Myers Squibb - 4,300 jobs
8. Novartis - 3,750 jobs
9. Amgen - 2,600 jobs
10. Glaxo - 1,650 jobs*
11. Nycomed - 1,250 jobs
12. Merck - 1,200 jobs
13. Sanofi-Aventis - 1,180 jobs
14. Reliant - 600 jobs
15. King - 520 jobs
16. Eli Lilly - 500 jobs
17. Sepracor - 300 jobs
18. Ligand Pharmaceuticals - 267 jobs
19. PDL BioPharma - 250 jobs
20. West Pharmaceutical - 250 jobs
21. Genentech - 240 jobs
22. Abbott - 200 jobs**
23. Bradley Pharmaceuticals - 196 jobs***
24. Alkermes - 150 jobs
25. Encysive Pharmaceuticals - 150 jobs
26. CV Therapeutics - 143 jobs
27. Neurocrine Biosciences - 130 jobs
28. Nektar Therapeutics - 110 jobs
29. NitroMed - 70 jobs

* Incomplete total, reflects US and Puerto Rico only

** Research only; doesn’t include sales reps following Kos acquisition

*** taken over by Nycomed
 






Anonymous said:
It is getting ugly day by day.

C is for contraction. C is also for convulsion. Both describe what pharma is experiencing these days. And the number of jobs being cut makes it all too clear. The trend - whether one calls it layoffs, restructuring, downsizing or reorganization - was under way a few years ago, of course, when Merck began eliminating thousands of jobs. But since early last year, the bloodletting has been particularly severe, which is only reinforced by the latest cuts by Wyeth and Schering-Plough. The list, by the way, includes both cuts recently made and those forthcoming.

Of course, C is also for collateral damage. This list doesn’t count all the layoffs in the supporting industries and vendors: advertising agencies, marketing companies, med-ed agencies, printing companies, mail houses, and venues for education and promotional meetings. As one reader reminded us last year - imagine the layoffs at companies that provided all the pens, coffee cups, clocks, notepads, baseball caps, tote bags, and backpacks that are given to docs. To quote that loyal reader: “This is not your father’s pharma industry, and never will be again.”

Have we forgotten anyone? Please tell us, because we will update:

1. Pfizer - 10,000 jobs
2. AstraZeneca - 7,600 jobs
3. Bayer - 6,100 jobs
4. Schering-Plough - 5,500 jobs
5. Wyeth - 5,000 jobs
6. Johnson & Johnson - 5,000 jobs
7. Bristol-Myers Squibb - 4,300 jobs
8. Novartis - 3,750 jobs
9. Amgen - 2,600 jobs
10. Glaxo - 1,650 jobs*
11. Nycomed - 1,250 jobs
12. Merck - 1,200 jobs
13. Sanofi-Aventis - 1,180 jobs
14. Reliant - 600 jobs
15. King - 520 jobs
16. Eli Lilly - 500 jobs
17. Sepracor - 300 jobs
18. Ligand Pharmaceuticals - 267 jobs
19. PDL BioPharma - 250 jobs
20. West Pharmaceutical - 250 jobs
21. Genentech - 240 jobs
22. Abbott - 200 jobs**
23. Bradley Pharmaceuticals - 196 jobs***
24. Alkermes - 150 jobs
25. Encysive Pharmaceuticals - 150 jobs
26. CV Therapeutics - 143 jobs
27. Neurocrine Biosciences - 130 jobs
28. Nektar Therapeutics - 110 jobs
29. NitroMed - 70 jobs

* Incomplete total, reflects US and Puerto Rico only

** Research only; doesn’t include sales reps following Kos acquisition

*** taken over by Nycomed
Click to expand...

It is plain and ugly and sad reality. There is no leadership in our business. We rate as low as the tobacco companies whose mission is to do harm.
 






This information came off of The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's website. More industry bullshit which digs the hole deeper on the trust and credibility front. Get this you have companies that lack credibility and Pharma continues with more voluntary code crap with clueless Dick Clark as their champion. Case and point, so what happened to inflation plus one percent price increase, 2002 codes, AMA guidelines and ....all voluntary crap. Yes the press ain't buying and America is tired with these lies. If all the existing codes were followed we would not need more voluntary new code crap. Its like the tobacco industry wants to do education on the bad effects of smoking. Lets get real.

This is the web site:

http://www.phrma.org/news_room/

Press Releases



PhRMA Revised Marketing Code Reinforces Commitment
To Responsible Interactions With Healthcare Professionals

Washington, D.C. (July 10, 2008) — Reflecting the continuing commitment of America’s pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies to pursue policies and practices that best serve the needs of patients and the healthcare community, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Board of Directors has adopted measures to enhance the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals.

The newly revised PhRMA Code, which builds on improvements already made in the previous 2002 version, is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that pharmaceutical marketing practices comply with the highest ethical standards.

“Informative, ethical and professional relationships between healthcare providers and America’s pharmaceutical research companies are instrumental to effective patient care,” said Richard Clark, PhRMA Chairman and Chairman and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc. “We take this responsibility seriously and are constantly reexamining ways we can enhance these essential company-physician interactions and reinforce the integrity of information about our medicines.”

“Doctors rely on accurate and appropriate information about new medicines in order to provide the best possible care to their patients. The changes to the Code demonstrate that the members of PhRMA are committed to continue enhancing how our industry serves physicians and patients,” said David Norton, Chairman of the PhRMA Affordability & Access Committee spearheading the Code changes and Company Group Chairman, Pharmaceuticals Group, Johnson & Johnson.

The voluntary PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, which will take effect in January 2009, reaffirms that interactions between company representatives and healthcare professionals “should be focused on informing the healthcare professionals about products, providing scientific and educational information, and supporting medical research and education.”

Providing physicians with up-to-date, accurate information about the medicines they prescribe clearly improves patient care and advances health care in general. Pharmaceutical research companies that discover and develop new medicines are the most knowledgeable about their products and are in the best position to inform healthcare professionals about a wide range of topics related to these medicines, including new treatment options, appropriate dosing, emerging safety developments and potential interactions with other drugs.

“Although our member companies have long been committed to responsible marketing of the life-enhancing and life-saving medicines they develop, we have heard the voices of policymakers, healthcare professionals and others telling us we can do better,” said Billy Tauzin, President and CEO of PhRMA. “This updated Code fortifies our companies’ commitment to ensure their medicines are marketed in a manner that benefits patients and enhances the practice of medicine. Simply put, it marks a renewed pledge to ‘practice what we preach.’ We hope all companies that interact with healthcare professionals will adopt these standards.”

Among its changes, the revised Code:

• Prohibits distribution of non-educational items (such as pens, mugs and other “reminder” objects typically adorned with a company or product logo) to healthcare providers and their staff. The Code acknowledges that such items, even though of minimal value, “may foster misperceptions that company interactions with healthcare professionals are not based on informing them about medical and scientific issues.”

• Prohibits company sales representatives from providing restaurant meals to healthcare professionals, but allows them to provide occasional meals in healthcare professionals’ offices in conjunction with informational presentations. The Code also reaffirms and strengthens previous statements that companies should not provide any entertainment or recreational benefits to healthcare professionals.

• Includes new provisions that require companies to ensure that their representatives are sufficiently trained about applicable laws, regulations and industry codes of practice – including this Code – that govern interactions with healthcare professionals. Companies are also asked to assess their representatives periodically and to take appropriate action if they fail to comply with relevant standards of conduct.

• Provides that each company will state its intentions to abide by the Code and that company CEOs and Compliance Officers will certify each year that they have processes in place to comply, a process patterned after the concept of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance mechanisms. Companies also are encouraged to get external verification periodically that they have processes in place to foster compliance with the Code. PhRMA will post on its Web site a list of all companies that announce their pledge to follow the Code, contact information for company compliance officers, and information about the companies’ annual certifications of compliance.

Other additions to the Code include more detailed standards regarding the independence of continuing medical education (CME); principles on the responsible use of non-patient identified prescriber data; and additional guidance for speaking and consulting arrangements with healthcare professionals, including disclosure requirements for healthcare providers who are members of committees that set formularies or develop clinical practice guidelines and who also serve as speakers or consultants for a pharmaceutical company.

Several of the changes to the Code, like PhRMA’s recent acceptance of the revised Physician Payments Sunshine Act in the Senate, reflect PhRMA’s position that appropriate transparency in relationships with healthcare professionals can help build and maintain patient trust in the healthcare system.
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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $44.5 billion in 2007 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $58.8 billion in 2007.
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does anybody know where Harvey Schuck has gone to? perhaps is he in hiding, on vacation, depressed, missing in action, figuring out if he has a job..................so let me know what does he actually do?
 












Anonymous said:
does anybody know where Harvey Schuck has gone to? perhaps is he in hiding, on vacation, depressed, missing in action, figuring out if he has a job..................so let me know what does he actually do?
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He is depressed like all of us and riding his bike. Wants to go back to Atlanta and be a RD again. What a mess
 












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