Parastar and Easyspot

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Anonymous

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Novartis has been without a tick product and there is currently a fair amount of bad blood between vets and Merial, for 2 main reasons.
1) Minimal attempt to deal with diversion.
2) Being told that product would not go OTC just as product appears in big box stores.
As a veterinarian that purchases a fair amount of product for my busy multidoctor practice, I have decisions to make and those are generated by sound business practices and how we are treated by those we buy from (assuming products are similar).
I braved a venture into these forums to see what you guys are feeling from your perspective.
If you want to see a bit more complete view of my thoughts, go to the Merial board and look at "One vet's perspective", I believe that is the title.
Anyway, I was told by my Novartis rep that price was not known yet and seemed to be a down to the minute type decision.
I was just thinking out loud, that if Novartis sold it even so they just broke even on that product, it would drive a lot of business away from HG and towards Interceptor I am imagining, as a lot of vets right now hold Merial management (rightly or wrongly) somewhat responsible for opening the barn door and having control of what products our clients use leaving the clinic.
I just thought that I would post here to see what your thoughts are after my last post someone (presumably from Merial) posted "why would you use a Novartis product"?
I don't think Merial management perhaps gets the feelings out there right now. I know for a fact that the reps get the feeling. My poor Merial rep (whom I liked) looked like they felt like they had been through the wringer when we met last (very recently).
One last note, nobody insulted me, very civil since I posted my comments. I know this is not a board for me and I appreciate your allowing me to post my comments as I am just one person trying to make some decisions that are not inconsequential financially and also have affects on my reps whom I like very much (both Novartis and Merial).
Take care.
 






Anonymous said:
Novartis has been without a tick product and there is currently a fair amount of bad blood between vets and Merial, for 2 main reasons.
1) Minimal attempt to deal with diversion.
2) Being told that product would not go OTC just as product appears in big box stores.
As a veterinarian that purchases a fair amount of product for my busy multidoctor practice, I have decisions to make and those are generated by sound business practices and how we are treated by those we buy from (assuming products are similar).
I braved a venture into these forums to see what you guys are feeling from your perspective.
If you want to see a bit more complete view of my thoughts, go to the Merial board and look at "One vet's perspective", I believe that is the title.
Anyway, I was told by my Novartis rep that price was not known yet and seemed to be a down to the minute type decision.
I was just thinking out loud, that if Novartis sold it even so they just broke even on that product, it would drive a lot of business away from HG and towards Interceptor I am imagining, as a lot of vets right now hold Merial management (rightly or wrongly) somewhat responsible for opening the barn door and having control of what products our clients use leaving the clinic.
I just thought that I would post here to see what your thoughts are after my last post someone (presumably from Merial) posted "why would you use a Novartis product"?
I don't think Merial management perhaps gets the feelings out there right now. I know for a fact that the reps get the feeling. My poor Merial rep (whom I liked) looked like they felt like they had been through the wringer when we met last (very recently).
One last note, nobody insulted me, very civil since I posted my comments. I know this is not a board for me and I appreciate your allowing me to post my comments as I am just one person trying to make some decisions that are not inconsequential financially and also have affects on my reps whom I like very much (both Novartis and Merial).
Take care.
Click to expand...

so nice to see a doc on this board such good thoughts. I was just posting a message on VIN and thought I might see what was on this board. Docs are the best business people in the world
 






Dr., no offense but you need to focus on SELLING flea prevention. Your clients come to you right? Don't let them leave. It doens't matter what product you sell them, but grab a set and sell them something. Business is not one on price. It is one on growing compliance. You are not going to increase compliance by charging them $2 less a month. You need to work on increaseing doses. Good Luck!
 






We’ll Doc it’s nice to see your venture out to this forum to post your thoughts, but I am afraid you will provoke a negative response from some, just because that what they feel is necessary to get their point across or to bash the competition, probably because they are losing in their own territory.
That said, I will agree with the last post on a different level, not sure where they were going? (He/she must work for one of the flea/tick/heartworm companies, since they used all the key words they learned in training…i.e.: compliance, increase doses…. blah blah blah….) fact is, you do not need to focus on selling flea control. But, you do need to leverage your white coat and tell your customers why to buy all products from you. You should forget what smack is being said on the streets and run with the product that you feel fits your medicine and make your practice more profitable. Be it Frontline or sentinel, new product or old or even a generic, pick the product mix to run with and don’t look back. In addition, hopefully it is will be with the sales rep that helps you and your practice. The smack on the street is mostly created by the competition.
The truth is all companies have unwritten policies to promotes diversion, some are just more open about it, or at least that’s what the competitor will tell you. Why is one product needed on the street and not another??? You educated guess is as good as mine!
1) Market share or lack of……maybe????
2) Maybe the delivery trucks are skipping your door and going straight to those warehouses in Florida, California and wherever…… (Look at the margin some of these products are going for online? You know your costs, how can they sell some for little over YOUR cost, if they are not buying it for less????? Other have a fair markup, all based on what they pay for the product.
3) Why is one product promoted over another? Better markup??? Maybe a co-marketing agreement??? Don’t know…
It’s simply supply and demand, but some companies make the supply easy to get, some not so easy. Maybe with a diversion agreement or a tracking system to make it harder…maybe a rebate program or promotion to make it easier…… the fact is all companies want their products on the online outlets. The annual sales # for Petmeds are astounding, why wouldn’t another publicly traded company NOT want a piece of that???
Have the doctors created the online monster? Maybe expedited the process, but, they would have gotten the products anyway. Though pharmacy sales are still a big income stream for clinics, its dwindling, You need to run hard and promote your pharmacy, but promote your clinic and services even HARDER !!!! The future is only going to get worse. What will you do when Walgreen’s, CVS, Kroger’s Wal-Mart and all the other big pharmacies chains really jump on the band wagon of pet medications. I see a day where your writing scripts for everything… Human side is already there, you’ll just have a closet full of free samples
As a 20 year Sales Rep for a manufacturer in this industry and a co-owner of 3 practices, That’s my $ .02, take it for what its worth……2 cents, Listen to your Gut feeling and don’t listen to forums.. VIN for medical advice and cafepharma for a good laugh now and then
 






Anonymous said:
We’ll Doc it’s nice to see your venture out to this forum to post your thoughts, but I am afraid you will provoke a negative response from some, just because that what they feel is necessary to get their point across or to bash the competition, probably because they are losing in their own territory.
That said, I will agree with the last post on a different level, not sure where they were going? (He/she must work for one of the flea/tick/heartworm companies, since they used all the key words they learned in training…i.e.: compliance, increase doses…. blah blah blah….) fact is, you do not need to focus on selling flea control. But, you do need to leverage your white coat and tell your customers why to buy all products from you. You should forget what smack is being said on the streets and run with the product that you feel fits your medicine and make your practice more profitable. Be it Frontline or sentinel, new product or old or even a generic, pick the product mix to run with and don’t look back. In addition, hopefully it is will be with the sales rep that helps you and your practice. The smack on the street is mostly created by the competition.
The truth is all companies have unwritten policies to promotes diversion, some are just more open about it, or at least that’s what the competitor will tell you. Why is one product needed on the street and not another??? You educated guess is as good as mine!
1) Market share or lack of……maybe????
2) Maybe the delivery trucks are skipping your door and going straight to those warehouses in Florida, California and wherever…… (Look at the margin some of these products are going for online? You know your costs, how can they sell some for little over YOUR cost, if they are not buying it for less????? Other have a fair markup, all based on what they pay for the product.
3) Why is one product promoted over another? Better markup??? Maybe a co-marketing agreement??? Don’t know…
It’s simply supply and demand, but some companies make the supply easy to get, some not so easy. Maybe with a diversion agreement or a tracking system to make it harder…maybe a rebate program or promotion to make it easier…… the fact is all companies want their products on the online outlets. The annual sales # for Petmeds are astounding, why wouldn’t another publicly traded company NOT want a piece of that???
Have the doctors created the online monster? Maybe expedited the process, but, they would have gotten the products anyway. Though pharmacy sales are still a big income stream for clinics, its dwindling, You need to run hard and promote your pharmacy, but promote your clinic and services even HARDER !!!! The future is only going to get worse. What will you do when Walgreen’s, CVS, Kroger’s Wal-Mart and all the other big pharmacies chains really jump on the band wagon of pet medications. I see a day where your writing scripts for everything… Human side is already there, you’ll just have a closet full of free samples
As a 20 year Sales Rep for a manufacturer in this industry and a co-owner of 3 practices, That’s my $ .02, take it for what its worth……2 cents, Listen to your Gut feeling and don’t listen to forums.. VIN for medical advice and cafepharma for a good laugh now and then
Click to expand...

Thanks for your 2 cents. Now I can sleep at night. Your are so smart
 












To the original poster: Perhaps you are a vet. Perhaps you are a rep who believes the management at your company pays attention to what is posted on this site.

Makes no difference. We all know CP is mostly bs. Bottom line is there are only a handful of companies that have real solutions (products and enforceable strategies) that can combine to provide good medicine and also protect vet/client relationships. After > 10 years in this industry I continue to wonder why veterinarians are not more proactive in supporting these companies. If veterinarians are not taking this approach they should not complain when certain companies continue to screw them. Most business owners (vets included and probably more so than most) are not excellent "business people". Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that is mine.

Plenty of bs on VIN too.
 






Thanks everyone for all the input.
I do agree that VIN has a limited # of people that "tow a line" that is not without their own interests in mind, but that is besides the point.
Anyway, I have enjoyed hearing from you and thanks for being civil.
P.S. I am a practicing vet with no ulterior motives.
 






Anonymous said:
Thanks everyone for all the input.
I do agree that VIN has a limited # of people that "tow a line" that is not without their own interests in mind, but that is besides the point.
Anyway, I have enjoyed hearing from you and thanks for being civil.
P.S. I am a practicing vet with no ulterior motives.
Click to expand...

Are you and the previous poster lovers?
 












Anonymous said:
Thanks everyone for all the input.
I do agree that VIN has a limited # of people that "tow a line" that is not without their own interests in mind, but that is besides the point.
Anyway, I have enjoyed hearing from you and thanks for being civil.
P.S. I am a practicing vet with no ulterior motives.
Click to expand...

VIN has become a joke due to the competitive crap added by drug companies. How sad.
 






we have dabbled in other products....clients express problems (didnt work, burned skin, smelled weird)...bottom line is when we worked with my receptionists and technicians we increased our sales. and we promote the ones people have heard of and have used and "liked" in the past (Frontline, Advantage).... When I looked closer into the Parastar Plus there is a misleading title there - the "Plus" is not an IGR, it's a permethren. I tried Advantix and didn't like the permethrens in there - too many complaints, and some sick dogs and cats!
 






Anonymous said:
we have dabbled in other products....clients express problems (didnt work, burned skin, smelled weird)...bottom line is when we worked with my receptionists and technicians we increased our sales. and we promote the ones people have heard of and have used and "liked" in the past (Frontline, Advantage).... When I looked closer into the Parastar Plus there is a misleading title there - the "Plus" is not an IGR, it's a permethren. I tried Advantix and didn't like the permethrens in there - too many complaints, and some sick dogs and cats!
Click to expand...

Advantix has 40+% permethrin....Parastar Plus has just 5%.
 






Amazing what you can find if you google "collusion", "Novartis", & "Merial". So this stuff with Interceptor/ the Avermectins/ Ivermectin/ Trifexis *isn't* the first time after all. (No surprise) I'm going to make it a point to google this at least once a day. Make it easier to find.
I have talked to *a lot* of people trying to figure out what to do for my dogs who cannot take Ivermectin- vets, suppliers (Foster&Smith, KV, 1800Pets, etc), local compounding pharmacists, other rescuers & pet owners & multiple vets. Most of us have *completely* lost faith & trust in the pharmaceutical companies, the so called American Heartworm Society, as well as our vets. The (primarily for humans) pharmacists I've talked to have just as good as said that it's corruption. (the good news is that many of us have learned to research prescribed meds *before* we accept them for our dogs, saving us stress, money, & misery)
And how very interesting that Milbemycin is readily available in Australia, but "can't" be sold to anyone in the US.
WTH are Y'All thinking?
 






It's different product in Australia jackass. Just like you don't but Australian heartgard or even Australian Bayer aspirin. Your issue is with the FDA and government, not Novartis.
 






No. It's a different brand name, but the same ingredient- hence the ban. Which is interesting because everything I've found indicates that the patent expired more than 2 years ago. It's also interesting that Safeheart never made it into production.
Obviously, you're in denial.
It's just a matter of time now before we see Y'All in court. Keep whistlin'.
 






You need to google FDA and read about that. The FDA made us do this. Every country has different regulatory agencies. For someone who thinks they know it all, ask one of your *pharmacy buddies* about the law and the FDA.
 
























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