XIGRIS CONTRACT

[Anonymous]

Just remember that 2-3 patients over 250 lbs IN YOUR ENTIRE TERRITORY, can mean the difference between being 85% to plan and being 130% to plan. Those same patients can come in when you have an advocate on service, and you are the lord of all things crit care. Have those same patients come into the unit when someone is on service that does not believe in Xigris and has never once used it in 10 years, and you are "just not painting the appropriate patient picture......." The bitch of it is, those same patients might all survive if they don't get the drug. No one knows, and no one ever will.

It's a great drug, an incredible disease state and medical specialty, and an extremely dynamic and exciting environment. But let's be frank here, no one has any idea where or when it should be used outside of an acute case of purpura. That isn't going to change.

You never know, you might have a bad flu season and make insane bonus. You might not make shit. Neither scenario has anything to do with your presence in the hospital, no matter what anyone tells you.

I love it. Making great money. Not working that hard for it, and hardly ever see my manager. It's a contract, so there is none of the company rah-rah bullshit with which to deal. No samples, no call metrics (at least ones that are trackable), and Inventiv is run pretty fast and loose overall. Overall, everybody is pretty nice, and there is not really any douchebags on board. If you just put in a modicum of effort, it's a pretty good gig.

Would I like something more "permanent?" What the hell does that mean in this day and age............? If you have an opportunity, you should interview.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone had their year end review yet? What did manager emphasize- besides sales of course- much on reach and frequency? what other items?

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone had their year end review yet? What did manager emphasize- besides sales of course- much on reach and frequency? what other items?

Review....what is the point. These managers are puppets. Whatever Tom Williams tells
Em what his expectations are they just follow akog. None of them could be managers anywhere else since they are the dumbest group of managers I have ever seen. Seriously, how did they even get a job....simple willing to follow a person who has come from marketing that had no clue sincere failed with the drug for how many years. The craziest thing is Inventiv and whoever the dumb people are that are buying is drug ar trusting him to run the company. To all those reading this make sure you are going out there and getting a robust dialogue with the doctors or you won't see sales improve, and be sure to schedule those web conferences with the same friction slide deck we have had for 2 years. Let's have that drunk guy from Lilly talk to us again, he is just as good as TW in motivational speeches.

 

[Anonymous]

Review....what is the point. These managers are puppets. Whatever Tom Williams tells
Em what his expectations are they just follow akog. None of them could be managers anywhere else since they are the dumbest group of managers I have ever seen. Seriously, how did they even get a job....simple willing to follow a person who has come from marketing that had no clue sincere failed with the drug for how many years. The craziest thing is Inventiv and whoever the dumb people are that are buying is drug ar trusting him to run the company. To all those reading this make sure you are going out there and getting a robust dialogue with the doctors or you won't see sales improve, and be sure to schedule those web conferences with the same friction slide deck we have had for 2 years. Let's have that drunk guy from Lilly talk to us again, he is just as good as TW in motivational speeches.

So, what; you one of those that needs a "leader" to pull you around by your nose ring? Really? You work in pharma, douchebag; contract pharma at that. Who gives a shit what kind of quality of managers that we have. This is the easiest gig going in pharma right now, so why don't you just shut the fuck up, collect your oversized check, and work your 20 hours a week? Is that so fucking hard? It doesn't take a whole lot of fucking effort, you know. If you think that you have a dipshit manager, then it should be even easier. Fucking crybaby. Bitching about making a 100k a year to just show the fuck up with no call reporting, and with a drug that is a decade old. Are you fucking shitting me? Shut the fuck up.

 

[Anonymous]

So, what; you one of those that needs a "leader" to pull you around by your nose ring? Really? You work in pharma, douchebag; contract pharma at that. Who gives a shit what kind of quality of managers that we have. This is the easiest gig going in pharma right now, so why don't you just shut the fuck up, collect your oversized check, and work your 20 hours a week? Is that so fucking hard? It doesn't take a whole lot of fucking effort, you know. If you think that you have a dipshit manager, then it should be even easier. Fucking crybaby. Bitching about making a 100k a year to just show the fuck up with no call reporting, and with a drug that is a decade old. Are you fucking shitting me? Shut the fuck up.

Your right, I am wrong. Thanks for opening my eyes......

 

[Anonymous]

This could be a tremendous opportunity. Everything is what you make of it. Nothing is ideal or perfect and I think this is pretty darn good compared to much of what is out there.

 

[Anonymous]

All true but your manager really can make your life very difficult. Ours does. Daily email/phone/text requests at all hours of the day/night/weekends/holidays. Call me old school but I do enjoy a job where my manager respects me and vice versa. That doesn't happen here. And no amount of money can make the situation right. I do make a good salary for doing a job that I would argue isn't so easy- if you do it correctly. And I try to, call me crazy- and I am as I've realized it's getting me nowhere. As an earlier post pointed out, you can work hard and do everything possible and your numbers still have no correlation to your efforts. Frustration. Add to that an overzealous, incompetent manager and you have a difficult work environment. Most business school cases reference workplace issues and rank your manager, not your salary, as the number one reason people stay or leave a position. I have to agree. I love my coworkers, my customers, my salary, but management is inept at best, including TW, and the continued charade that "newco" is buying the product is wearing thin. I think many of us are actively looking for other opportunities to work in a better environment. Call me crazy but I have a bit of self respect that even a good salary like this cannot buy. Yes- I know it's not perfect elsewhere but I do have enough experience to know how much better it can be. I'm actively seeking that now.

 

[Anonymous]

All true but your manager really can make your life very difficult. Ours does. Daily email/phone/text requests at all hours of the day/night/weekends/holidays. Call me old school but I do enjoy a job where my manager respects me and vice versa. That doesn't happen here. And no amount of money can make the situation right. I do make a good salary for doing a job that I would argue isn't so easy- if you do it correctly. And I try to, call me crazy- and I am as I've realized it's getting me nowhere. As an earlier post pointed out, you can work hard and do everything possible and your numbers still have no correlation to your efforts. Frustration. Add to that an overzealous, incompetent manager and you have a difficult work environment. Most business school cases reference workplace issues and rank your manager, not your salary, as the number one reason people stay or leave a position. I have to agree. I love my coworkers, my customers, my salary, but management is inept at best, including TW, and the continued charade that "newco" is buying the product is wearing thin. I think many of us are actively looking for other opportunities to work in a better environment. Call me crazy but I have a bit of self respect that even a good salary like this cannot buy. Yes- I know it's not perfect elsewhere but I do have enough experience to know how much better it can be. I'm actively seeking that now.

If your manager is calling you on nights/weekends/holidays; then that is your problem for letting it happen, not your managers. If you want respect, then you are not demanding it from your manager. He obviously thinks you are a pushover, or else he would not be doing that.

 

[Anonymous]

In a normal job you would be correct- our team has addressed this over and over, only to have it happen again. We ignore these things but many of them have action items attached which of course are due in 1 day, or by COB that day, etc. Remember, TW treats his managers like this so ours specifically thinks this is OK. It's not. But TW doesn't care, neither does the manager. He acts as though none of us have spouses, kids, lives outside of this job. We HAVE addressed this but when it is ignored and TW doesn't back you up then we're basically screwed. Basically what happens is mgr gets a request from TW, then turns it to us with a very quick deadline. Usually it comes with, "sorry but I need this asap" etc. If you don't comply you are hounded. Truly craziest type of environment I've ever worked in- and I've been in pharma over 20 yrs. And this happens weekly.

 

[Anonymous]

Any news regarding this contract?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes- the same update we always get- "things are going great, we're CLOSE to signing a contract with the newco." Or "things are going great, we've had some movement on the contract front with the newco, just can't tell you." My guess is they will tell us Nov 30 that Prowess-Shock isn't as great as we thought, newco isn't buying, and Lilly is shelving the product. Sorry to be pessimistic, just my thoughts.

 

[Anonymous]

Is anyone currently promoting Xigris for any company? This has to be one of the biggest flops in Pharma history.

 

[Anonymous]

Is anyone currently promoting Xigris for any company? This has to be one of the biggest flops in Pharma history.

What's a pharma "flop?" What, do you have money invested in the drug itself? Everyone on this contract is making at least 84K/year in base alone. Give us a few fat, sick patients in a month, and we can knock down 15k in bonus per quarter. We work 15 hours a week, max. No samples, no calls that cannot be faked. What the fuck are you complaining about? Just collect your easy check and shut the fuck up.

 

[Anonymous]

I am no longer involved in Pharma, but I was one of the original reps that launched Xigris, and I still own lilly stock. I firmly believe in the value of Xigris for the patients at high risk of death from sepsis.

What is a Pharma flop? Well, when a product is expected to be a true blockbuster, and ten years later it has never produced one year of sales as big as its first full year (2002) was expected to be, it qualifies as a flop, or a failed product.

JMHO

 

[Anonymous]

TO poster #33- you are correct- it's too easy to promote this product- too easy to make good money for doing little of nothing for about 15 hrs. per week. This is the EXACT reason I left- call me crazy but I'd like to do something besides fake calls, hope I get a few fat patients, and skate through this contract the rest of the time. Lilly is INSANE for paying for promotion of Xigris- sales are the same whether it's promoted or not. For my own sanity I had to actually do something with my life, not skate, shut up, and collect a paycheck. Shame on Lilly for paying for promotion- they could actually drop the price of the product if they got rid of promotion and make it more reasonable for patients who really do need it.

 

[Anonymous]

TO poster #33- you are correct- it's too easy to promote this product- too easy to make good money for doing little of nothing for about 15 hrs. per week. This is the EXACT reason I left- call me crazy but I'd like to do something besides fake calls, hope I get a few fat patients, and skate through this contract the rest of the time. Lilly is INSANE for paying for promotion of Xigris- sales are the same whether it's promoted or not. For my own sanity I had to actually do something with my life, not skate, shut up, and collect a paycheck. Shame on Lilly for paying for promotion- they could actually drop the price of the product if they got rid of promotion and make it more reasonable for patients who really do need it.

Your comments are irresponsible and inaccurate. For numerous reasons the drug has struggled since launch; many physicians/hospitals/pharmacies don't fully understand the data and sepsis treatment remains highly complicated with many conflicting protocols. There are many who believe in this drug, work hard to educate the medical community regarding its unfulfilled potential to help a far greater number of patients. If you worked for 15 hours a week and made a lot of money and didnt care then we are glad you are gone.

 

[Anonymous]

Your comments are irresponsible and inaccurate. For numerous reasons the drug has struggled since launch; many physicians/hospitals/pharmacies don't fully understand the data and sepsis treatment remains highly complicated with many conflicting protocols. There are many who believe in this drug, work hard to educate the medical community regarding its unfulfilled potential to help a far greater number of patients. If you worked for 15 hours a week and made a lot of money and didnt care then we are glad you are gone.

"They don't understand????" Really? Ten years of concerted promotion and they don't understand? At what point do you just admit that the fault doesn't lie with the customer and rests solely with Lilly's ridiculous initial expectations? It's a great drug. It's a niche drug. End of story. You would think that Lilly would figure that out by now, and quit promoting it. Xigris has been used by the same people, for the same patient type since launch. That is a fact.

 

[Anonymous]

"They don't understand????" Really? Ten years of concerted promotion and they don't understand? At what point do you just admit that the fault doesn't lie with the customer and rests solely with Lilly's ridiculous initial expectations? It's a great drug. It's a niche drug. End of story. You would think that Lilly would figure that out by now, and quit promoting it. Xigris has been used by the same people, for the same patient type since launch. That is a fact.

I said they dont "fully understand," and to claim that there were "Ten years of concerted promotion"--is delusional. You have had plus/minus 40 people selling it for 2 1/2 years and before that it was inconsistently and often poorly promoted by Lilly. Did Lilly have unreasonable expectations? Yes. Pharma always has unreasonable expectations. While true it is also largely irrelevant. What is more relevant is why it has been so inconsistently accepted.

 

[Anonymous]

I said they dont "fully understand," and to claim that there were "Ten years of concerted promotion"--is delusional. You have had plus/minus 40 people selling it for 2 1/2 years and before that it was inconsistently and often poorly promoted by Lilly. Did Lilly have unreasonable expectations? Yes. Pharma always has unreasonable expectations. While true it is also largely irrelevant. What is more relevant is why it has been so inconsistently accepted.

Oh, I see. You are one of those that believe that before Inventiv came along, that is was just a big sepsis intellectual wasteland out there. Is that right? Xigris has been promoted with the exact same message since it was launched in 2001. Period. Same story. The same people that were using it in the 1st year, are using it now.

I also see that you are one of those that think your 2 years of corporate sales propaganda in critical care gives you the validity to state that practitioners that have been knee deep in critically ill patients for decades just don't really know what they are doing. Is that right?

Xigris doesn't need to be promoted. It is a waste of resources to do so. Every single person that does not have their head firmly inserted up their ass can see that fact. The fact that Lilly continues to pay us to pretend to do this ridiculous job is proof of what bufoons they are. But hey, it is a good check with little or no work, so I am all for making money off of Lilly's stupidity all day long; just don't delude yourself into thinking that you have anything to do with the use/non-use of Xigris. Hundreds of people before you made the same false assumption. The work was done in the first year of the launch, and not a damn thing has changed since.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you, above poster, for confirming what I tried to explain earlier- this job is way too easy- and completely UNNECESSARY! The message is still the same, 10 YEARS later, and the numbers indicate it doesn't matter whether promoted or not, Xigris isn't growing, period. Notice that many open territories do very well, even after being open for 6 months or longer. Really think it needs promotion? And if you think Prowess Shock is going to change the world, I've got some really nice swamp property to sell! Seriously, Xigris is a good drug for a niche market that has captured all of the market it's going to capture- Marketing 101 tells you that for a 10 yr. old product. Lilly should continue to manufacture and sell it, just save the money on promotion!!