Indy Star seeks to speak with Lilly reps (and former reps)

Hi. My name is John Russell, business reporter with the Indy Star. For several years I have been writing about Lilly's patent cliff, and how the YZ strategy might not cover revenue shortfalls, leading to deep budget cuts.

I am now writing a story about how the sales reps are being impacted, and the sales strategy is undergoing big changes, and what that means. I'd like to talk to Lilly reps and former reps to hear your perspective.

You can reach me at (317) 444-6283 or john.russell@indystar.com

I will be glad to listen off the record or to use your name.

John

 

Good luck with this.

I also think taking a look at all the money wastes with a bloated overhead is a good story. The PR and HR departments are huge.

Lilly can no longer afford all this.

 

John, speaking as a former reporter for the Washington Post, and career manager and representative in the pharma industry (retired) I know that your story will be strengethend with as much attribution and on record quotes as possible. To do this however, will require representatives to put, at risk, their careers. Lilly is a powerful employer, locally, and as you may well know, can "black-ball" many, many individuals.

If you truly seek to get honest, attributable and candid remarks, please seek other forums, as well (rep clubs, medical asssociation liasions, hospital liasions, etc., etc.) to get a "complete" perspective.

I trust that you will help to continue to uphold the high journalistic effort, daily of the Star; which is read, widely, nationally, by folks like us!!

Thank you

 

NEVER go to HR for anything!!!!! Especially if it's a situation with a manager selling off-label. You WILL be black-balled and believe you me.... Lilly WANTS you to keep your mouth shut! Talk about integrity!

 

Hi John-

You'll have to promise ABSOLUTE anonymity for this. It's a company shedding jobs.

 

If yourintrested in other information, leave a message and Ill call. FDA violations and how Lilly handles compliance and complaints, Names Dates documents

 

Folks - I am not a sales rep - but I do work at Lilly and I am local. John Russell is considered one of the best journalists in the industry. You can trust him implicitly.....

 

Sure, I'll listen carefully to information on Lilly, on this or anything else, any time, in complete confidence.

Contact me at (317) 444-6283 or john.russell@indystar.com

 

I think the interesting angle here is to find the former leaders of marketing management that were thrown under the bus for "infractions" that they were ordered to perform by upper management. Looking at just reps is too low in the food chain. Find the former Zyprexa, Xigris and Prozac team leaders for some real tales.

Many good people have been ruined by this company -- a company that is supposed to treat employees well.

 

You want the truth? Lilly has destroyed people that put forth their life, their family time and their career. Lilly has created an internal culture that disregards reality. They promote the wrong people(bad word for a new assignment ..it's no promotion as most managers don't have enough life skills let alone sales experience). It's sell, sell, sell at all costs. Turn your head and cough at reality. Lilly has, through an incessant amount of pressure, looked the other way at the facts of clinical trial data.

Xigris - remember the trial that was required by the FDA? I do. It showed that the drug didn't work EVEN IN PATIENTS THAT SHOULD HAVE BENEFITTED. It was called ADDRESS. Lilly continued to hammer reps to sell it and spun the approach post trial.

ReoPro - Lilly published a mortality benefit with the drug in a sales detail piece. The trial wasn't nearly powerful enough NOR DID IT SPECIFY that mortality was a pre-specified end point. Sell at all costs.

There's more with other products. I won't leave it here , but if you really want to learn more................

 

The story of the demise of Lilly could be a best seller along the likes of The Reckoning. Lilly can be seen as a metaphor for the economic decline of the US. If you can get people to speak on the record, you should write a book. Good luck.

 

With all due respect, Mr. Russell, you are about 10 years too late. Where were you in the late 1990's when Lilly sales reps could have used someone like you. Oh, I forgot. You were kissing up to the corporate leaders in their top floor offices at Lilly, printing every word they wanted you to.

 

Here's a nice scandal for you to investigate, since no one at Lilly ever did anything.

Check out a manager in upstate NY and a rep who jointly harassed an MD.

The rep called the MD and told him he was an FBI agent and was coming in to search the MD's office. The DM went in with the rep and the two of them had a good laugh at the MD's expense a week later.

4 reps and about 15 other MDs heard the doctor discuss this with the manager and the rep at a Cymbalta program 5 months later. One of the reps reported it to Tom Kidd in Compliance and Ethics, and also in an email to Sidney Taurel, Michael Ackermann, Steve Crane, and Greg Beeman, and also live to HR.

The rep who harassed the MD left Lilly 3 years later. The manager is still there, 4 years later.

 

In the late 1990s, I was hundreds of miles away, writing about other companies and other issues for another newspaper. I've been in Indy for only four years.

 

Yeah, sure, that's what YOU say.....

 

I'm sorry Mr. Russell, the above behavior is more than likely our upper management. Who else wouldn't want your presence here?

 

John,

As a former Lilly rep who reads this board from time to time I found your post interesting. As you know Lilly has been offering voluntary buyouts to employees in both Sales & Marketing as well as many other divisions in the company. My own opinion is that Lilly initially believed that their efforts to reduce headcount were on target, particularly within the divisions that faced greatest risk (i.e. neuroscience), and assumed that success with their emerging drug pipeline coupled with strong sales (either from pricing increases or volume growth) of current patented drugs would prepare them well for years YZ.

Unfortunately, I think what you can see just from reading press reports is that Lilly has encountered a string of disappointments with their pipeline, have resorted to outsourced drug discovery (even though they invested significantly in biologicals R&D) and now face the challenge of what to do with their existing US sales force. Recent changes to Lilly's sales model, which now focuses on smaller territories with a more "service-based" sales model and more products/rep only resulted in minimal reduction in headcount.

From a rep perspective, this does nothing but change one's territory, with no regard to business impacts from formulary adjustments (wins/losses/drug tiering). Quotas may change, but the game does not. Physicians are less accessible than ever, and most, if not all reps, will admit that performance depends more on formulary coverage than any other single factor. The sad truth is that in coming years as some of Lilly's flagship products go off patent, there will be significantly more cuts to the US sales force, not as a matter of choice, but as a matter of necessity.

Reps of the past used to believe that you could join Lilly as a sales rep and enjoy a full career in said position. Talk to any "old-timers" and they will sing praises to the company that allowed them to enjoy a long and enjoyable career. Reps today realize that this is no longer the case. Tougher competition, changes within the marketplace, and externally-driven changes have made a life-long career in pharmaceutical sales a near-impossibility.

Hope this perspective helps with your upcoming article.

 

John, would you like to hear about the massive cerebral ischemia resulting from critical intellectual resources being displaced or outsourced? Just what is the scope of your investigation --- you could write a very captivating novel, even: Maybe "Shutter Lilly Island" - ha - the reality distortions are that real. Highly recommend that one if you haven't already read "Shutter Island" --- keep in touch. Oh, hundreds of ex-lilly will love to talk over the next few months. You will be working 60-70 hours per week, I hope that you have an expense account. Good luck, expose the truth, because the truth will set us free. Additionally maybe spend an equal amount of time of positive recommendations from those dearly departed, or those who are about to depart who are brimming with enthusiasm about their next gig.

 

I agree. People please show some class and respect ti Mr. Russell. At least more class than Lilly has shown you.

 

The pharmaceutical in general is rampant with this type of behavior and shady behavior in general. Just look at Pfizer's multi million dollar for reps going to FDA. I know of reps that still have the "video tape" trying to promote Zyprexa for dementia in nursing homes. Breaking pharma code goes on still to a big extent and especially if you are in the good ol' boy club. Several of the managers, including regionals, looked the other way as long as numbers were there.