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HCV- Lets have an Honest Discussion

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Anonymous said:
Ummmm….this is Merck. Have you looked at our recent track record with R&D? Failure after failure after failure. This is about the only drug in the pipeline that looks even remotely valuable to the company. They can't afford NOT to give it a try!
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Exactly. It might be a risk / benefit in the end. Never know until you try. This is exactly what RP wants to see...taking bigger risks. Playing it safe didn't work.
 




I am an Account Manager at Abbvie. Congats on your data: You will kick our behinds until we come out with our 2nd generation and then it will be our turn. Either way, I'm glad that Gilead will be everyone's target! Congrats Again!
 








Anonymous said:
I am an Account Manager at Abbvie. Congats on your data: You will kick our behinds until we come out with our 2nd generation and then it will be our turn. Either way, I'm glad that Gilead will be everyone's target! Congrats Again!
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Merck isn't going to roll over anyone. Johnny Come Lately is entering a crowded market that's going to get even more crowded. It's in trouble even in that last market of hope.
 




Forget vaccines oral treatments are about to make these therapies obsolete. AbbVie is the latest with outstanding results. 90+% cure rate in 12 weeks on patients WITH cirrhosis.

Merck was never a leader in this space and I'd expect that trend to continue. They've made a clear choice to make PD1 the big bet. Good luck with that.
 




Originally Posted by Anonymous View Post
I just can't believe all this is happening. I have been a scientist at Merck for 18 years and I am told our whole team is being let go this week. I guess HCV isn't that big deal after all. John - you let us down.


What is this about?
 








Anonymous said:
Originally Posted by Anonymous View Post
I just can't believe all this is happening. I have been a scientist at Merck for 18 years and I am told our whole team is being let go this week. I guess HCV isn't that big deal after all. John - you let us down.


What is this about?
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Same thing with odanicabid. Data not as good as Merck touts. They like to brag from the old days, and they are long gone!
 




Anonymous said:
Originally Posted by Anonymous View Post
I just can't believe all this is happening. I have been a scientist at Merck for 18 years and I am told our whole team is being let go this week. I guess HCV isn't that big deal after all. John - you let us down.


What is this about?
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Like us, mourn Merck and move on. There is much better life after Merck!
 
















Anonymous said:
Forget vaccines oral treatments are about to make these therapies obsolete. AbbVie is the latest with outstanding results. 90+% cure rate in 12 weeks on patients WITH cirrhosis.

Merck was never a leader in this space and I'd expect that trend to continue. They've made a clear choice to make PD1 the big bet. Good luck with that.
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And BMS is in a race with Abbie, so there is 3 to market ahead of you.
 




Anonymous said:
They are 2nd or 3rd to market, it's an injection versus a pill, and it takes 4 weeks longer to work. Rumor has it that clinical data was not so hot.
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You people are amazing with these lies rumors and false information. The hcv studies continue to enroll, the r/d has no layoffs, the salesforce is helping HIV and the point of phase 1/2 is to determine dosing and efficacy before studying the drug in larger populations. The lower doses have same efficacy without alt increases hence the studies go on to phase 3. The drug will launch QD 8-12 weeks 1 pill ...

There will be 2-3 launches before merck comes out but that is just how it is. Not everyone is being treated and insurance will continue to mandate f3/4 and cirrhotics treated first because of cost.

Abbvie shows good efficacy but start asking your doctors about DDI's with ritonavir. Gilead looks great too. So as a doctor you will have 3-4 different drugs all oral with efficacy a greater than 90-95% what will make it matter most to chose a drug? Hmmmm, think about it the market won't default to Gilead just because they launched first.
 




Anonymous said:
You people are amazing with these lies rumors and false information. The hcv studies continue to enroll, the r/d has no layoffs, the salesforce is helping HIV and the point of phase 1/2 is to determine dosing and efficacy before studying the drug in larger populations. The lower doses have same efficacy without alt increases hence the studies go on to phase 3. The drug will launch QD 8-12 weeks 1 pill ...

There will be 2-3 launches before merck comes out but that is just how it is. Not everyone is being treated and insurance will continue to mandate f3/4 and cirrhotics treated first because of cost.

Abbvie shows good efficacy but start asking your doctors about DDI's with ritonavir. Gilead looks great too. So as a doctor you will have 3-4 different drugs all oral with efficacy a greater than 90-95% what will make it matter most to chose a drug? Hmmmm, think about it the market won't default to Gilead just because they launched first.
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Kool - aid alert! Go do some research on the correlation between first to market and overall market share. There's a reason we sprint behind every other pharma who set their success by making better choices for development first.

Will we get a piece of the pie? Probably. Will it be significantly less than first and second to market drugs? Definitely. You sound like another Merckbot content to show instead of lead and win the discovery races. So typical.
 








Anonymous said:
It's true that first to market always gets the lion's share of the pie. I mean, just look at lipitor.





[/sarcasm]
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Yes, Mevacor really crushed it in statins. I mean who cares that Lipitor became the best selling drug ever and the top seller for over a decade?

Even when Merck makes it to market first they can't be the all - out winner. What a company!!
 




Merck won't launch until the end of 2015 at the earliest. More likely it will be in 2016. We will likely have to contract like crazy (in other words, sell it on cost) because even though 5172 and its companion look good, it will be a me-too type of drug. Also, with Isentress sales starting to decline (the drug is on the back-end of its lifecycle) the other CTLs and I have a hard time believing Merck will keep all the HCV and HIV people around for 2 years until we have some new revenue. I've been told by TP that he thinks 25% cut in sales force by end of this year and another 25% in middle of 2015 is realistic
 




Anonymous said:
Merck won't launch until the end of 2015 at the earliest. More likely it will be in 2016. We will likely have to contract like crazy (in other words, sell it on cost) because even though 5172 and its companion look good, it will be a me-too type of drug. Also, with Isentress sales starting to decline (the drug is on the back-end of its lifecycle) the other CTLs and I have a hard time believing Merck will keep all the HCV and HIV people around for 2 years until we have some new revenue. I've been told by TP that he thinks 25% cut in sales force by end of this year and another 25% in middle of 2015 is realistic
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Thanks this helped me decide on whether to stick around and watch this dumpster fire.
 




Anonymous said:
Merck won't launch until the end of 2015 at the earliest. More likely it will be in 2016. We will likely have to contract like crazy (in other words, sell it on cost) because even though 5172 and its companion look good, it will be a me-too type of drug. Also, with Isentress sales starting to decline (the drug is on the back-end of its lifecycle) the other CTLs and I have a hard time believing Merck will keep all the HCV and HIV people around for 2 years until we have some new revenue. I've been told by TP that he thinks 25% cut in sales force by end of this year and another 25% in middle of 2015 is realistic
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Yes, Yes, lets all quit now and join Bristol or even abbvie or beringer ( I don't even know how to spell that company)
 




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