Category Archives: Business of the drug industry

Want more new drugs ? Extend patent protection

Posted on January 24, 2012 | 2 Comments

Good medicine equals good profits but in today’s complex regulated environment for new drug approvals pharma companies cannot afford to innovate because it costs more to develop new drugs and it can take longer to get approval from the FDA. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Patent expirations

If the FDA wants to make prescription drugs safer than change patent protection timing

Posted on December 23, 2011 | 10 Comments

Patents protect drugs from copycat versions for 20 years after the drug is invented. This is a bitter pill for pharma companies because it can take eight years or more after invention to accumulate enough data to get a drug past the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Once the patent expires, 80% of the brand name sales can vanish within a year as generic competitors reach the market.

The majority of FDA approved drugs have serious potential side effects that are not detected before marketing approval according to “Preventing adverse drug reactions in the general population” Manag Care Interface. 2005 Oct;18(10):49-52. Obviously it is in the drug companies best interests to get drugs approved as soon as possible to start to recoup the $1 billion development costs. If the FDA requires more clinical studies to ensure the efficacy of the drug outweigh the risks than the pricing has to be adjusted to ensure maximum ROI. This means higher costs for healthcare and patients. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Patent Protection

Drug companies cannot hope for blockbuster drugs anymore.

Posted on December 22, 2011 | 4 Comments

Blockbuster drugs. They are, to this day, an addiction for big pharma. A blockbuster can produce a huge ROI and fund the development of new drugs and new marketing programs but today the deck is stacked against blockbuster drugs.

The healthcare environment today is one in which cost containment is a key element. A lot of blockbuster drugs are going to come off patent including,Zyprexa, Cymbalta and Viagra. Insurers, before adding new and improved brands, are asking for clinical proof that new products outperform generics. In addition the FDA is taking a harder look at all NDA’s and in most cases is asking for more clinical studies before approval cutting down on the time the drug is on the market and this the ROI for these products. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Atorvastatin, Blockbusters, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Long Tail, Marketing, Pharmaceutical drug, Pharmaceutical industry, Zyprexa

Why I know Lilly is going to be OK

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

I worked at Eli Lilly and Company for 5 years and I learned a hell of lot. The people at Lilly gave me the tools I needed to succeed for my brand team(s). Even though Lilly is going through a challenging time right now I have no doubt that the company will come out of this storm stronger and better than before. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry, Working in the industry

Tagged Cialis, Doug Wilson, Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly and Company, Fluoxetine, Lilly, Markets, Prozac

Why would anyone want to be a pharma salesperson ?

Posted on December 8, 2011 | 3 Comments

Responding to what it calls “a challenging environment,” AstraZeneca PLC is laying off 24% of its U.S. sales leadership and reps, which translates to eliminating 1,150 positions as of February 2012. Challenging environment in this case means clueless about how to add value to physicians who meet with drug reps. Why in the hell would anyone in their right mind want to work as a pharma salesperson ? Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Pharma sales reps

Remember when you had passion for DTC marketing ?

Posted on November 23, 2011 | 1 Comment

As the great get away starts in preparation for the holiday it’s a good time to clear our heads and get ready for next years plans. I have been pretty vocal about the need for new thinking and new blood within the pharma industry but I also do believe that there are a lot of very good people who still work in pharma marketing. For some reason their voices are not as loud as the people who make bad decisions and cast a dark shadow on drug marketing. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Business, Consumer, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical industry, Prescription drug, United States

Pharma insiders continue to poison the industry

Posted on November 22, 2011 | 1 Comment

Merck & Co will pay roughly $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it promoted the painkiller drug Vioxx for an unapproved use, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. What is really disappointing is that nobody is going to he held personally responsible and things like this will continue to happen as long as pharma continues to hire industry insiders with a spotty track record at best. Continue reading →

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Posted in Bad practices, Business of the drug industry

Tagged Facebook, Marketing, Merck, Merck & Co, Pharmaceutical lobby, Rofecoxib, United States Department of Justice, Vioxx

When numbers are more important than patients

Posted on November 22, 2011 | 1 Comment

According to today’s Times: When Pfizer cut its research budget this year and laid off 1,100 employees, it was not because the company needed to save money. In fact, the drug maker had so much cash left over, it decided to buy back an additional $5 billion worth of stock on top of the $4 billion already earmarked for repurchases in 2011 and beyond. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Facebook, Harvard Business School, Medtronic, Merck & Co, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical industry, Pharmaceutical lobby, Wall Street

CVS to patients: You don’t need these drugs

Posted on November 21, 2011 | 2 Comments

Ask any retail pharmacist about switching patients to a different brand of drug and I am sure you are going to hear stories that are not pleasant. Patients who need their medications are often reluctant to switch to different brands of drugs when the ones they are taking work and don’t have unpleasant side effects which is why CVS maybe making a huge mistake recommending customers stop covering more than 30 drugs next year, including diabetes treatments and an erectile-dysfunction treatment. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Berkshire Hathaway, Co-Pay Cards, CVS, CVS Caremark, DirecTV, Pharmaceutical industry, Prescription drug, The Wall Street Journal

The real reason why most drug companies are in trouble

Posted on November 17, 2011 | 2 Comments

We’ve all heard about the “patent cliff” and how revenues for drug companies is going to decline but there is another far more sinister reason why the drug industry is in trouble; it’s because they don’t treat employees better than customers and as thus they are becoming an industry of insiders and territorial landlords. Continue reading →

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Posted in Bad practices, Business of the drug industry

Tagged Business, Customer service, Employment, Microsoft, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical industry, Sales, Zappos

Not another insulin pump ?

Posted on November 17, 2011 | 1 Comment

Well here we go again folks. Another manufacturer Tandem Diabetes has won approval for an insulin pump but rather than expand the market all these pump manufacturers are trying to take a piece of the pie as most patients with Type I diabetes don’t want to rely on “technology” to treat their disease. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business of the drug industry

Tagged Diabetes mellitus, Diabetes mellitus type 1, Insulin, Insulin pump, iPhone, Medtronic, Tandem, Tandem Diabetes