Merck's Singulair sales free-fall 90% in 4 weeks after US patent loss
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The last 10% is probably the employee scripts they get for free!
Fierce Pharma has quite the dry wit! Nice quote from Schecter they mock!
http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/mercks-singulair-sales-free-fall-90-4-weeks/2012-09-12
With all of the pressures in place to promote generics of popular branded drugs, the time it takes to go from blockbuster to just buster has become remarkably short.*New data shows that sales of Merck's ($MRK) asthma and allergy drug Singulair fell nearly 90% in just the four weeks since the generics were approved.
"There's been a rapid decline and loss of sales," MarketWatch quotes Adam Schechter, president of Merck's global human-health unit, telling investors in New York.*
No kidding.
Schechter told analysts*in July that history indicated it would take two months to lose 90% of market share. Well, history indicated otherwise, since sales fell 87% in a month.
Singulair has been the company's biggest seller and accounted for $3.3 billion of Merck's ($MRK) sales last year. For the most recent full quarter, Singulair brought in $1.43 billion. But with 10 generics lined up against it, a crash was inevitable.
History has not been kind to any of the recent blockbusters that have lost patent protection. Plavix, the top-selling drug in the world, fell off patent in May, and Bristol-Myers ($BMY) reported a 60% year-over-year sales drop for the second quarter, to $701 million. That was for only one month of the quarter.
Other recent generics launches grabbed 90%-plus market share as multiple versions hit the market. Eisai's Aricept saw its share nosedive immediately. Within a couple of weeks, with just a couple of rivals on the market, the brand had only 27% of the market. Soon after the 6-month mark, when a half-dozen or so new copies hit, shares fell below 10%.
http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/mercks-singulair-sales-free-fall-90-4-weeks/2012-09-12
With all of the pressures in place to promote generics of popular branded drugs, the time it takes to go from blockbuster to just buster has become remarkably short.*New data shows that sales of Merck's ($MRK) asthma and allergy drug Singulair fell nearly 90% in just the four weeks since the generics were approved.
"There's been a rapid decline and loss of sales," MarketWatch quotes Adam Schechter, president of Merck's global human-health unit, telling investors in New York.*
No kidding.
Schechter told analysts*in July that history indicated it would take two months to lose 90% of market share. Well, history indicated otherwise, since sales fell 87% in a month.
Singulair has been the company's biggest seller and accounted for $3.3 billion of Merck's ($MRK) sales last year. For the most recent full quarter, Singulair brought in $1.43 billion. But with 10 generics lined up against it, a crash was inevitable.
History has not been kind to any of the recent blockbusters that have lost patent protection. Plavix, the top-selling drug in the world, fell off patent in May, and Bristol-Myers ($BMY) reported a 60% year-over-year sales drop for the second quarter, to $701 million. That was for only one month of the quarter.
Other recent generics launches grabbed 90%-plus market share as multiple versions hit the market. Eisai's Aricept saw its share nosedive immediately. Within a couple of weeks, with just a couple of rivals on the market, the brand had only 27% of the market. Soon after the 6-month mark, when a half-dozen or so new copies hit, shares fell below 10%.
The generics are better quality than what we make. Don't worry, R&D will save us all.
Don't be stupid. You may not like Merck but you need sales of Singulair to fund your paycheck.
The colonel has a plan!
"Frazier took over in January 2011 for Richard Clark, who had already done a lot of the heavy lifting to prepare for Merck's challenges. The company has been reducing its costs by about $5 billion annually, in large part by eliminating about 20,000 positions, a 30% workforce shrinkage."
"Frazier took over in January 2011 for Richard Clark, who had already done a lot of the heavy lifting to prepare for Merck's challenges. The company has been reducing its costs by about $5 billion annually, in large part by eliminating about 20,000 positions, a 30% workforce shrinkage."
I do not work for Merck. I read the Merck CP section a couple times a month. Why? Merck folks appear to be the few remaining "professionals" in a declining industry. This is about the only sector that does not resort to some nasty, sick comments about my mom in the course of rebuttal .
That being said, you guys did one hell of a job with Singulair. The formula improved the lives and a well-being of millions. In my layman's opinion it was one of the most successful ventures in the last decade. Your physicians understood it's application and the price was fair.
That being said, you guys did one hell of a job with Singulair. The formula improved the lives and a well-being of millions. In my layman's opinion it was one of the most successful ventures in the last decade. Your physicians understood it's application and the price was fair.
Exactly.
However, it doesn't matter whether you're stupid or not. Without Singulair, your paychecks are doomed, as are every member of the sales force.
All past tense, just like Merck's glory days.
Hello? We were happy that Singulair was a $1B drug. But we also are well aware that its benefits are minimal. Physicians decide they may as well toss Singulair into the bucket to treat an asthmatics. Most docs would tell you they are not sure if Singulair helps or not. We were pretty good in exaggerating that small benefit into a lot of $$.
Hello? We were happy that Singulair was a $1B drug. But we also are well aware that its benefits are minimal. Physicians decide they may as well toss Singulair into the bucket to treat an asthmatics. Most docs would tell you they are not sure if Singulair helps or not. We were pretty good in exaggerating that small benefit into a lot of $$.
....so why in the hell can't Merck design other "low good no good" drugs and ask for exorbitant amounts???!!!! It seems just so easy....so Merck...bye bye sing u lair....hell-o unemployment line!!!
Thank you for your comments. Full disclosure here- one of the first operational shifts in Merck's quest to cut costs was to eliminate the Merck-Frost labs in Canada where Singulair came from. As in life as is at Merck- if you haven't done something for me lately, no matter how good your last success was, you're history.
We were lucky. There was only one other drug in the class which has more side effects. Ours has a cleaner profile. Physicians are frustrated about how to control asthmatics. Compliance is a hassle. They always look for something to add on to help. We were at the right place at the right time. We have not been that lucky to discover another drug in a small niche with a cleaner profile since then. Unemployment? Haha. I just retired with a pension and 401K (my money) and will be reading your post while doing a 72t.
Great med...but it is completely different scenario when it comes to MC and competitors. Soon enough...just like it was done with Zocor...Lipitor ate our lunch, bkfast and dinner...other competitors will come and do the same.
There is no questioning what a great innovative drug it was...the problem is we don't have anything to replace its revenue; thus, we may be headed for disaster.
Ken Frazier did say at a regional event...he had to make cuts...the way he sees it in ten years...the company will be done.
The drug was over marketed to children,those to young to tell what it was doing to them.It took to many years to get the warnings on the label,and yet somehow I think someone knew how devastating this drug could be.
Ahhhh no. Do you look at the market IMS data??? I smell troll. You aren't in the industry anymore, you need to walk away now. Januvia is a Fosamax entered on top and will leave on top. Remember that.
JANUVIA is doing well but it's a wash when you put REMICADE into the picture. The sum equals zero year over year. REMICADE went down because of the agreement with Johnson & Johnson. It's still hurts the bottom line. SINGULAIR was the best out there for a extended period of time. I believe Ken miscalculated the downward slide. He stated it would take 6 months for generic to fully take hold. That is why the stock took a hit. Everyone knew it was going generic. When Ken is off by 85% with respect to time, that is a problem. Also Januvia goes generic in 2017. That could be sooner because companies like Teva love to make drugs before the expiration periods. They either will file a court claim on a technicality or just make the drug and fight it in court.
Or you can say Singulair is perfect for children because it is so difficult to expect them to take their inhalers regularly and correctly.