Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Drug reps soften sales pitches (WSJ):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204331304577142763014776148.html

Eli Lilly decided to adopt its new [softer] approach after watching launches of new drugs like Strattera for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and the blood thinner Effient stumble, according to Mr. Ricks. One possible problem the company identified was a mismatch between what doctors expected based on sales pitches, and what the products delivered. [LOL. Effient may yet do ok, but Strattera simply doesn’t have much efficacy.]

Now, the company's sales team draws marketing lessons from how Disney keeps families coming to its amusement parks. Lilly's most recent national sales meeting, held at Disney's business training institute in Florida in February, was devoted to customer service, not product training. Sales representatives watched how Animal Kingdom workers greeted families at the gate and answered questions around the attractions [LMAO].

Note that this is an evolving but very old story—scan about halfway down in #msg-8708384t to the section called Is The Sales Model In Pharma Broken?; this was posted more than 6 years ago.

The following graphic may be somewhat out of date, but the basic problem hasn’t changed much: