In a bold and somewhat controversial gamble, Swiss drug maker Roche announced that it offered $43.7 billion for the 44 percent of Genentech it does not already own.  Genentech is considered to be one of, if not the, most successful biotech companies in the world.  In 1990 Roche bought a controlling stake in Genentech for 2.1 billion dollars.

 Shares of Genentech jumped 13.5% while Roche’s stock fell 4.8%.  Based on the stock market reaction today, it looks like Roche is going to have to raise it’s offer in order to make a successful acquisition. Time will tell.

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New guidelines were released on Friday by PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) and they prohibit drug makers from giving out pens as well as other “non-educational” items to doctor’s offices and their staff. 

In 2002 the PhRMA Code was put in place as an ongoing effort to ensure that pharmaceutical marketing practices comply with the highest ethical standards. Several marketing practices have come under fire over the last couple of years that were not addresses in the 2002 Code. On Friday, several additions were made that will take effect in January 2009. 

The new 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.

The times they are a-changin’…

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I’ve received a lot of inquiries over the last couple of months regarding the best websites to research the medical, biotech and pharmaceutical sales industry so I thought I’d share some of the ones Tom Ruff Company uses on a regular basis to stay on top of breaking news, trends and articles pertaining to the healthcare industry.

Medical Sales Websites:

 www.devicelink.com

www.emergogroup.com

www.healthcarereps.com

http://www.hoovers.com/free/

Biotech Sales Websites:

www.bio.org

www.biospace.com

www.topix.com

Pharmaceutical Sales Websites:

www.cafehealthcare.com

www.cafepharma.com

www.coreynahman.com

www.medzilla.com

www.pharmrep.com

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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

-Thomas Jefferson

Let us remember those brave men and women who continue to serve our country and who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Happy 4th of July,

Tom

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I just read a decent article from this week’s San Francisco Chronicle regarding the changes taking place within the pharmaceutical industry as well as the pharmaceutical sales representative’s job responsibilities.  For those of you considering a career in pharmaceutical sales, I would recommend taking the time to read this article:

 The Changing Face of Pharmaceutical Sales - San Francisco Chronicle

I agree that one of the biggest challenges facing a pharmaceutical representative is the limited amount of face time in front of a physician. I hear this feedback repeatedly from friends in the industry. It requires some creativity, a solid relationship and some uniqueness to stand out from the other reps that are bombarding these physicians.

One concept the article discusses that I do not agree with is a tool put out by Time-Concepts.com that is “paying providers for taking the time to speak with sales reps.”  Doesn’t seem ethical and not sure how this practice can be done without violating some of the strict new regulations put in place to monitor the healthcare industry.

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IMS Health just released it’s latest report on the biotech sector for 2007.  Global prescription sales of biotech drugs increased 12.5% in 2007 to more than $75 billion.  The global biotech market grew at nearly twice the rate of the pharmaceutical market.

New innovations, expansion of approved indications for existing products and the increased demand for biotech products outside the U.S.  have fueled the growth.  The leading companies for sales and market share for 2007 were Amgen with $1.6 billion in sales and 21.3% market share, Roche-Genentech was second, followed by Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Sanofi-Aventis.

Of the three sectors in our industry; medical device sales, pharmaceutical  sales and biotech sales, biotech remains the most challenging to break into.  A typical biotech firm looks for 5+ years of outside sales experience within pharmaceutical sales or biotech sales. In addition to previous industry experience, strong clinical skills, promotions to hospital or specialty representative and rankings within the top 5% to 10% of your sales force are also helpful for securing a position within biotech sales.

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A friend of mine just shared this story with me about 12 year old Severn Suzuki and her 1992 speech to the United Nations Earth Summit on what we [adults] are doing to the environment.  Severn was born in Vancouver, Canada and at the age of 9 founded the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO).  ECO is a group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. 

In 1992, at the age of 12, Suzuki and other members of ECO raised funds to travel to the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to give a speech that left several of the delegates in tears and others asking the question, “what are we doing to our environment?”

“I am only a child,” she told them. “Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words.”

16 years later, Suzuki continues to share her message with the world. As with Gandhi’s famous quote, “We must become the change we want to see,” she feels that if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges and become a part of the positive tide of change.

Please take 5 minutes to watch her speech and let me know what you think.

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The official numbers are in and the list of best selling drugs for 2007 was recently released:

Sales (mm)

                       2006           2007

1.  Lipitor      $14,385    $12,700 -12%

2. Plavix        $6,057      $7,977   32%

3. Advair       $6,129      $7,004  14%

4. Enbrel       $4,379      $5,375   23%

5. Nexium     $5,182      $5,216    1%

6. Diovan       $4,223      $5,012  19%

7. Remicade  $4,428     $4,975   12%

8. Zyprexa    $4,364     $4,760    9%

9. Risperdal   $4,183    $4,696   12%

10. Rituxan     $3,861     $4,600  19%

11. Singular    $3,579     $4,300  20%

12. Herceptin $3,134    $4,050   29%

13. Seroquel   $3,560    $4,027   13%

14. Lovenox   $3,210    $4,000   25%

15. Effexor     $3,722    $3,794      2%

16. Aranesp   $4,121    $3,614   -12%

17. Norvasc   $4,866    $3,510   -28%

18. Avastin    $2,364    $3,425     45%

19. Cozaar     $3,163    $3,400       7%

20. Atacand  $2,889    $3,222      12%

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I receive at least 15-20 e-mails or calls a week with people asking for advice or feedback on the best resume format to use for medical and pharmaceutical sales interviews.  I wrote a post last October that explains in greater detail the best format to use, but for a visual, I’ll share the actual sample resume that we recommend all of our candidates use for medical and pharmaceutical sales interviews.  Short and sweet is still the name of the game with bullet points highlighting all of your successes. No fluff.

§ Responsible for obtaining one of the largest accounts nationwide - The County of Los Angeles

§ Sales Representative of the Month Award

§ Bachelor of Arts, Communications
§ Graduated Summa Cum Laude

For more interview tips and advice you can visit the Tom Ruff Company website.

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