Free Newsletter
Boehringer slashes 600-plus sales jobs
Free newsletter via e-mail
Tools
The drug-rep bloodbath continues. This time, it's Boehringer Ingelheim laying off a hunk of its U.S. sales force, with between 600 and 900 reps getting pink slips. The news for reps came via phone call on Tuesday, PharmaGossip reports; management apparently called salespeople in alphabetical order to tell them whether they still had a job. The company started notifying sales managers yesterday.
According to an announcement posted on CafePharma, Boehringer intends to cut 30 percent of its sales forces devoted to primary care, cardiovascular and neurology. Jim Edwards at BNet Pharma did the math and came up with 942 positions to face the ax. Reps and sales managers alike are getting the boot.
The reasons are familiar to anyone who's been following pharma: drugs going off patent without new replacements. In Boehringer's case, the prostate drug Flomax gets generic competition next year.
- see the PharmaGossip post
- check out the article at BNet
Related Articles:
Eli Lilly offers buyouts to 4,000 reps
Amylin sharpens axe for 200 rep cuts
J&J to cut 900 jobs, mostly in sales
750 Merck reps cut loose this year
1,000-plus lose jobs at Sepracor, Abbott
Comments
By Anonymous | Posted 11:08am | August 31, 2009
The slashing of sales reps is a bigger issue and is not solely due to drugs going off patent without replacements. They are being replaced by technology - advancements allowing consumers and constituents of Pharma to gather much of their information on-line. What is the role of a Pharma Sales Rep - to educate the physician and their staff on the clinical aspects of a drug. And, that information isn't "dynamic" and readily available. We now have information at our fingertips whenever we need and at levels that most of Pharma didn't think possible. Social Networks are forming around disease states and therapeutics, both for the patient and the physician. Physicians are now discussing patient management with their peers, patients are turning to "like" people with the same conditions to learn more about their outcomes.
We are also drop shipping directly to the physicians' offices, also replacing the need for a rep to provide this service.
We need to think more broadly about this issue - what will Pharma do to shift their business model allowing them to "embrace" the likes of new technologies and the functionality they provide. How can we create new positions, replacing those of the traditional sales rep? What will these positions look like, the skill sets needed and can we re-train and re-tool our sales forces to support these positions? I think YES.
By Anonymous | Posted 3:26pm | September 29, 2009
Bravo! Well written by the PR division or a senior director. As stated, there is something to be said about having information that is readily available, but let's not place all of our eggs into one basket, shall we?
"...shift their business model allowing them to "embrace" the likes of new technologies and the functionality they provide. How can we create new positions, replacing those of the traditional sales rep?..."
Really? A little deep in the cow manure, don't you think?
There is something to be said about having someone visiting a physician to discuss products, and diseases, on a regular basis. The touch and feel of cotton, so to speak.
Post new comment
Paid Research Reports
- Stakeholder Opinions: Vaccines in Emerging Markets (Asia) - Opportunities in China, India, South Korea and Taiwan
- Big Pharma Performance Before, During and Beyond the Global Recession
- Optimizing Lifecycle Management: Maximizing commercial lifespan through label expansion and combination products
- The CRO Market Outlook: Emerging markets, leading players and future trends
- Pharmaceutical Sales Force Effectiveness Strategies
- Commercial Insight: Influenza Vaccines and Antivirals - The pandemic's long-term impact
