Working for Syntex as a Professional Service Representative was the best paid vacation I've ever had. Probably actually made calls the equivalent of 2 days/week and sampled and shammed the other 3 days. This was long before heavy duty computerization, data analysis, GPS tracking, etc.. Everything was pretty much manual which made it tough for Syntex management to track a rep's performance. Kissed my DM's ass along the way which helped with the hustle. Bailed after a couple of years for a real job that paid lots more (Syntex rep pay was awful). Didn't surprise me a bit when Syntex folded in the early 1990s. Everyone was riding the Naprosyn success which tanked after its patent expired. Most folks I knew at Syntex were screwing off one way or another and getting paid for it. Why Syntex had such a good reputation for its "work" environment. Still laughing my ass off many years later. Thanks Syntex!
BEST PAID VACATION
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LOL! Syntex had a very early Silicon Valley mega-dollars, laid back schtick about it that permeated the organization. Yeah...a lot of reps were screwing the pooch because rep performance was so difficult to measure and because Naprosyn and Syntex's derm products basically sold themselves. I caught the middle of the Syntex gravy train except for the rep pay which sucked and the reason why I also moved on. Have to agree, though, that being a Syntex rep was a very nice vacation.
Shame on you two for the lack of a solid work ethic! Explains your lack of success post Syntex!
Huh. What lack of success? I traded today's equivalent of $40,000/year in Syntex rep wages for an immediate doubling of that in real estate sales. After a few years I began my own, small real-estate business which grew into the multi-millions which is what I sold it for when I retired. Had I stayed with Syntex I would have continued to have been paid dismal rep compensation as well as finding myself unemployed when Syntex went belly up. Saw the writing on the wall for Syntex and made a move that I've never regretted. Only people who made any decent money at Syntex were its investors and the higher-ups at its Palo Alto HQ.
My DM expected 6 full details each day plus making pharmacy calls. Ride-a- longs every 60 days. Paperwork, etc. was expected to be completed during evenings and weekends. No voicemail back then...spouses acted as the (free) answering service during the week. 4 year college degree and sales experience were the minimum requirements to be hired. As has been related, the compensation was terrible and never got any better despite longevity/productivity. Needless to say there was a good amount of rep turnover. This former Syntex rep drank the Syntex Kool Aid for 18 months and then moved on to grad school and an MBA leading to eventual senior management at a Fortune 100 firm from which I retired. A previous post related that the only folks at Syntex making decent money were its investors and higher-ups at its Palo Alto HQ. I would add to that RMs and a sprinkling of DMs. Syntex was a flash in the pan of the pharmaceutical industry. A few folks got very wealthy off of the backs of the rest of us who didn't.
Hahahaha! Didn't I see y'all working at Target? Old fool!
Syntex was an excellent employer. It just paid its reps poorly. Syntex has been gone for 25 years but still has a group of former employees who meet a couple of times a year....the Syntex Alumni Association. Sorry some ex-reps took advantage of hard copy paper and pen tracking. For those of us who worked hard we were rewarded by excellent products, co-workers, managers and training. I learned a lot working at Syntex which helped me throughout my entire 30 year + career in pharma.
Gag me with a spoon! Are y’all soft in the brain? Bahaha
Well, Syntex has been gone for nearly 3 decades but I still remember my time as a Syntex Rep back in the 1970s. A couple of years out of college with a Chemistry degree I really enjoyed being a PSR and worked hard at it. Yes, I suppose that it was easy to screw off but I just didn't see the point. One of the pharmacists in my territory took a liking to me and encouraged me to go back to school for a pharmacy degree. With good recommendations and further encouragement from Syntex management, I did just that. I enjoyed a rewarding career as a pharmacist until my retirement. I have to say that without my Syntex employment and its positive exposure to the pharma field I most likely would never have entered the pharmacist career path.
My observation is that in a job a person pretty much gets out of it what he/she puts into it. That was certainly true with my Syntex experience.
My observation is that in a job a person pretty much gets out of it what he/she puts into it. That was certainly true with my Syntex experience.
Joined Syntex in the 80s, transferred to Roche and then Genentech. Syntex hired me with business degree which, at the time, was a bit risque. I found the training in Palo Alto (6 weeks total) to be extremely helpful. Jim Landis (RIP) and Doreen Ward were really helpful. The Syntex training, and later CMR, gave me confidence and helped set me up for success at Roche and Genentech. Pay-wise Syntex was not the best but I was grateful for the opportunity and I didn't let it go to waste. 30+ years later I'm retired and enjoying the pension and medical so it was all worth it.
Syntex gave me my start 30+ yrs ago for which I was very grateful for. Thank you PM and DH!) I never wanted to own my own business so the Syntex-to-Roche-Genentech job scenario worked for me. In retrospect, I really enjoyed selling the Syntex line probsbly more than anything else I sold. You could sell Naprosyn to so many specialties and Anaprox was a HUGE hit with OBGYNs. The derms loved the Lidex/Synalar line and Toradol was a lot of fun when it first came out. Cardene and Ticlid were challenging but that made me learn those disease states very thoroughly. The Syntex mandate of 7-8 physician and 2 pharmacy calls a day helped created structure for me which helped me in other my positions going forward. Like many of us at Syntex, I am now able to benefit from the pension and medical coverage that was promised so long ago.
Nobody cares old timer loser.
Trolling much? Go back to the Searle board, I think you are lost.
Really, Syntex was a joke of a pharma company. They hired a bunch of unethical sales reps and were beaten by competition every time. Company should be elected in the Hall of Shame.
Naprosyn kicked butt. Doesn't make a difference bc we got bought by Roche who had great pension and medical for retirees.
Too funny! Motrin Kicked Naprosyn butt to the curb. They did by being ethical not via the sleaze tactics of Syntex
Motrin was not RX. Your comparison is apples to oranges. Loser.
Ibuprofen (Motrin) was RX and became OTC not long after Naprosyn's debut. The docs really liked Naprosyn over Motrin because of Naprosyn's exceptional efficacy and bid dosing. Syntex became involved in legal action over a disputed early clinical trial involving Naprosyn. Syntex settled and Naprosyn went on to become a mega blockbuster. It is OTC today as Aleve.
None of this really matters. Syntex has been gone for almost 30 years. Naprosyn and the derm products kept it afloat until their patents expired. Syntex had no pipeline. Syntex Palo Alto campus sold off with major buildings torn down. Nothing left of Syntex but some ancient memories although there is a Syntex Alumni Association that is active.