ALK Contract

Any info on the ALK contract? I am not sure if it is a new contract or a backfill. Any information and insight appreciated!

 

Was just contacted for an opening. Any word on pay ?

 

Just got back from an Interview for this contract...Pay somewhere around 65K + 20...this is a VERY small time operation. Literally 2 DMS nationwide. Merck deserted these drugs a while back.

 

Before any interviewing, the recruiter had told me salary would be in the 70's.

 

the recruiter told me mid to hi 70s as well....but at the interviews i was low balled by a lot

 

is ALK's contract confirmed for sales only or other divisions work too?

 

this contract is a joke. why does iventiv do these kind of deals?

 

Grastek costs about $300/month PLUS patients will have to get the epi pen! All this for a drug that provides 20 - 38% efficacy. OTC meds are more effective. This will be a challenging sell to say the least - and to primary care no less! I could be wrong but I bet this contract won't last a year. We'll be looking for a job again soon!

 

You have come to an awesome realization and fast. I walked out of my interview halfway through when I realized how absurd this drug would be to sell. Thanked them for their time and was very polite about it...but sometimes the recruiters really need to divulge more to candidates. This is a complete nightmare set up to fail in the very near future. Good luck to all who accepted the offers.

 

Do not expect inVentiv recruiters to know ANYTHING about the drug, with any contract. They are basically clueless most of the time which is truly puzzling. The recruiter I spoke with was trying to placate her baby during the entire conversation - which made the conversation sort of stressful. Candidates have to do fully research the opportunity on their own. But I have been called twice by inVentiv recruiters who said interviews where the next day so I had no time to thoroughly prepare. I would have not gone to the interview had I known more about these ALK products.

 

Merck Returns Rights to Allergy Tablets Back to ALK-Abello


Jul 27, 2016
By Randi Hernandez

Merck gave the rights to three sublingual allergy immunotherapy tablets back to Denmark-based manufacturing company ALK-Abello, according to an announcement released on July 27, 2016. The end of the partnership agreement will mean that Merck will no longer hold the rights to Grastek, Ragwitek, and an investigational SLIT tablet. The drugs seek to treat allergies to grass, ragweed, and dust mites, respectively.

ALK-Abello admitted in a press release that sales performance over the past two years has been below expectations in the United States, but believes the further development of its SLIT-tablet for the treatment of allergic asthma will be fruitful, as it has been in Europe. However, the company is now left looking for a new co-development partner in North America.


The rights to the drugs will revert to ALK-Abello in the next six months, and will be complete by early 2017. Merck committed to completing the current clinical study that is underway on the SLIT-tablet, but will slowly transition the product registration process over to ALK. Merck announced FDA acceptance of its biologics license application (BLA) for the dust mite tablet (MK-8237) in April 2016.

The return of the rights to these three therapies to ALK follows an inspection letter from FDA to the immunotherapy manufacturer that cited multiple problems with the company’s aseptic manufacturing capabilities. Although many of the citations surrounded the fill/finish of a non-oral product (Pharmalgen), FDA also concluded that ALK-Abello had no written procedures surrounding how the stability of their products is tested, nor any documentation on the sampling and testing of its grass and ragweed drug product and drug substance samples. FDA estimated that the stability of the sublingual grass and ragweed tablets had not been tested since 2014.

Source: ALK-Abello

 

Ughhh!!! I was offered the job- had to take it after being unemployed since Jan. when last contract ended. It's been tough out there.

 

well think of it this way...I dont care if your working for Pfizer or on one of these shitty contracts...The days actually making productive calls are basically over. So do the best you can and ride this one for as long as it lasts but definitely keep looking.

 

How are these products doing? Any word on further expansion?

 

There was a rumor that one scrip came out of the North Carolina area...it turned out to be false. The entire force will be history in time to get this kids ready for back to school.

 

sounds like a complete failure. Thanks for the info. I'll look elsewhere for another opportunity.

 

I interviewed for this back in Dec 2016. I really regreted wasting my time. i bidded myself out. the entire sales force was 10 reps across USA. thats all. its seasonal.

 

10 reps? How is that even worth it. Even for a contract sales force that's nothing.

 

Noticed ALK positions posted today on inVentiv website. Is this contract expanding or are these back fill positions?

 

I didn't see any exact locations, unless I missed them, listed so I'm guessing expansion.