We may not make it till rest of products go generic, but we do need to be aware. When does Brovana, Alvesco, Omnaris go generic? I do know that Lunesta goes generic in 2014 unless patent extention.
Already signeed with multiple agreements (Lupin and Glenmark just to name two), Lunesta goes generic November 30, 2013. If we get a pediatric indication, that date will be May 31, 2014. One can only hope that Stedesa pans out (do not be fooled by corporate bullshit--odds are against it), and the bipolar indication for Latuda is approved. Even if the bipolar indication is approved, will Lunesta sales force be needed? The 110 members of the Lunesta sales force which will be selling Latuda after the first of the year brings that number to 460 reps--just the right size to sell that one product. Almost all of the rest of the Lunesta sales force will be jettisoned, just like Summit was. We have a year or so left. We will be jettisoned right before Christmas 2012 and the Latuda reps will sample and possibly detail Lunesta in the second position from that time until patent expiry. Stedesa outlook is losing its luster daily. It is being sold in Europe for about $10 a pill. It is the metabolite of generic of oxcarbazepine--it is albuterol/levalbuterol all over again. Who is going to pay for this expensive add on drug, with a market potential of $250-300 million dollars? It has a black box. Lastly, it is from Portugal, not Japan. DSP suffers from NIH (not invented here) syndrome. Brovana's main patent expires in April, 2012. There are three other patents which supposedly protect it for another decade. Dey (Mylan) has recently won a couple of patent infringement lawsuits against Sunovion. Lawyers may tie it up for a while, but it will go at the same time Lunesta does, if not before. Notice how the Brovana reps were not incorporated into anything yet. Pipeline. Really? Really? The overactive bladder product will not be sold by us. The DSP conference call to investors plainly stated it would be out licensed or sold because it does not fit with our Respiratory, CNS, or Oncology future. The triple re-uptake inhibitor is there to save face. It's developer has left the company for another, and has set a world record languishing in Phase 1 since Q2 2008. If you are not too lazy to do a google search, you will find all I am saying is true. Do you really believe this company has a bright place for you with its Blueprint for Growth after what you have just seen? Do you trust Mark Iwicki and Ted Raad to do right by you? Start looking for alternative careers now, while you are still drawing your salaries and bonus. When the time comes, make your move. You have just seen no matter how well a sales rep was doing, hardworking and going to PCE, or slacking and at the bottom of the list, the result was the same for each. Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!
Why did DSP buy Seprecor? Are they going to buy some drugs next year? All the sales forces will be gone in 2 years if we dont get new drugs.
Now you are getting it. There are no new drugs. DSP bought Sepracor as a springboard to launch Latuda into the US. Sepracor and Sunovion sales have been stagnant for about 4 years--since 2008 we have been stuck at 1.4 billion years. Remember the Oz meeting--they rammed in to out heads our job was 1. $1.45 Billion in sales 2. EPS of $2.40 and 3. Increase sales across all product lines. The Japanese thought that we could do that number with Latuda alone. They were either naive, or sold a bill of goods by AA as to what they could expect if they bought us. They did not realize the climate was changing in health care in the USA. They thought they could easily get this company up to $4 billion by 2014--remember that first national sales meeting we had as Sunovion and the projections were all put up on the big screen? Well, 2014 is 2 years away, and we just lost $400 million in sales. In 2014 Lunesta will be gone, Brovana possibly gone. Does anyone really expect Latuda to become a $4 billion product on its own? What does anyone really expect Omnaris HFA to do? How about Oncology? If we did get an oncology product, do you really think that will keep you employed? Did they not already demonstrate that they would want sales people with vast experience in that arena, not CNS or Respiratory reps? When the patent is off whatever drug you are selling , then you are off to the unemployment line!
You are spot on. How can one blueprint their future with this company? Changes in territory and reorganizations every 6 months, 4 layoffs in 4 years, major patents expiring in the next 18 months, and no pipeline other than Latuda bipolar. Let's hope the FDA does not slow the process down because of our creative selling of it for schizophrenia.
