It is so unprintable that I can't put it into my post.
But I can help you by giving you these links.
AstraZeneca: WHY DO U AZ REPS SEEM SO MISERABLE?
Bristol-Myers Squibb: FBI Raids Dolan's office!!!
GlaxoSmithKline: GSK CORPORATE INTEGRITY ??? WTF
Merck: Who Really Is Running This Company ?
Novartis: MY Salary Sucks!!! and Sleeping with boss
Pfizer: Legal Counsel on Behalf of Jeff Kindler
Sanofi-Aventis: Would you Recommend SA to a Friend?
TAP: What is tap like to work for?
With the FBI raiding drug company CEO's offices, perhaps the negative sentiment isn't surprising?
9 comments:
Drug reps = Catering cheerleaders who are just smart enough to see that the job is not worth a damned thing.
No wonder they are so bitter.
Who said pharma employees don't have a sense of humor!
This is the best comment:
Anonymous Posts: n/a
Re: What is tap like to work for?
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It will remind you of the Special Olympics!
Does it really cost almost a billion dollars to make each drug?
Reps for drug companies do not always just "strut their wares". Some do other stuff, such as teaching hospital departments how to test blood samples large scale, and it is not easy to live in hotel rooms either. Others, who work at drug companies and do other jobs have their problems as well. I know a number of persons who worked at companies like Glaxo or Ortho McNeil who were given jobs with promises of certain kinds of salaries which never materialize. The contract, which exists, never goes into effect, there is always some little problem, and...next time. Finally they have to make a choice, quit, or put up with being taken for a fool. A number of these persons also work very, very long hours. It is not much different, however, from what goes on elsewhere in the U.S. People get hired, right out of school, with a contract, and then...oops, contract changes, or...company runs out of money this week...and, well, you can be an intern for now and first job up...and...nothing. All that is nothing new.There is nothing one can do about it, right? Or, is there?
Rosethejet said...Does it really cost almost a billion dollars to make each drug?
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Yes.
The process starts with DISCOVERY of a new molecule that has potential. That discovery process alone is incredibly difficult, even with tech tools. A real needle in the haystack job.
Then the molecule needs to go through all kinds of testing to determine it's potential - and potential problems. Almost all the molecules flunk out before they get to the stage where they can be tested on humans - clinical trials.
Meanwhile, incredibly detailed records must be kept the whole way through - with massive requirements by the FDA.
It takes 7 - 15 years (or more) to actually bring a new drug to market...so in order to justify the $800M or so, there needs to be a clear sense that there is enough of a market for the drug. That's why pharma companies love drugs for common problems (hypertension, depression, etc) and won't EVER invest the money for a drug to cure Lou Gherig's disease.
It many ways this is not unlike the oil industry. There's massive investment and high risk in order to find a winner.
The real question around all this is: given the cost and the risk, what is a FAIR profit, and what is an OBSCENE profit.
And a corollary question: should our government be in the business of interfering with market forces on behalf of consumers...or not?
Peter, I wonder what your answers are - and I wonder if they have changed since you've gone from being an insider to being an outsider?
Does it really cost a billion to come up with a new drug?
Response: NO.
This is a number invented by pharma, Marcia Angell describes exactly how this number was invented in her book, which I advertise on thise page.
They have included the capitalized costs. To make it simple, to say a new drug costs a billion is like saying a Ford Taurus costs $100,000. Which may be true if you include all the interest costs, the money you could have earned, etc.
REAL cost to develop a new drug is on average about $100-$150 million. Read "The truth about the drug companies."
But none of this matters. What is interesting is that drug company profits, after all the write offs, is about twice as high as those awful oil companies.
They are making money hand over fist. And there is no way back. If they stop doing that Wall Street will kill them.
They are at a point of no return.
So Peter, does that mean the only way to get "cheaper" drugs is to import them? That sounds crazy.
No, the only way to get cheaper drugs is not to import them. IN fact half the people in the US get cheaper drugs through their PBMs. It's only the uninsured paying full price. They are the only ones we stick it to. The rest already pay Canadian prices . . .
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