Karyopharm - oncology

Umm...many of us knew the VP of Sales and the hiring managers, hoped what they were was selling was real, turned out it wasn’t. Lesson learned. Doesn’t change the facts of what ended up happening.

Help us understand how you see it differently? Reps are leaving, managers are leaving, clearly their is a culture issues. Are you not seeing any of this?

 

Not to mention a first time commercial CEO who he and his wife are far to emotionally tied to the product. They can’t see the blindspots.

 

Im staying because I have about 10k shares, with ESOP included, and I think this place is starting to hit the skids. That is when things often get bought out. If we have a good quarter we jump off the bottom and if we dont the board may start to think we are underperforming and look to sell for shareholders. Either way I cash in in the low six digits. That is not going to happen at Oncopeptides. I talked to Peptides and I have reservations about a company that says we cant pay the equity now but we can in three months. They will still have no revenue in three months and costs will be higher since they are paying you. I hope it works out for you but I just think going there was a panic move. Time will tell. Good Luck

 

Same for me and I’m leaving. To me 10k is not that many shares, and as you said, a percentage of those are espp so we don’t need to wait for the buyout for those to vest as we already own them outright. Of the options/RSU that are remaining about 35-40% or so are vested so I’m really not leaving that many shares on the table and if I choose, I can exercise my vested shares to buy and hold or sell and reinvest back into K-Pharm...if I believe this was a good company. K-Pharm also isn’t giving a ton of LTI each September so accumulating a lot of shares for “free” is unlikely, not to mention WS isn’t overly excited about what we are doing. If you like it here and are riding it out good luck. I’d look at Tesaro and Clovis as two benchmarks where the hype of a big buyout never materialized...KPTI is looking a lot more like those two versus looking like Immunomedics.

 

This is a perfect example of leadership vs big pharma. Leadership is simple, its trusting your people to do a good job. The problem with leadership is you must relinquish control to your sales people. They paid us well because they say they trusted us. With that, no matter how good our relationships are, it takes time. Good launches take years especially how we price our products. Here comes beg pharma as you've seen with Perry, Tina, Derek. Reach, Frequency have nothing to do with success of a product. Its simply small wins. Good reps keep building on small wins and over time they are successful. Those listed above don't understand that and create pressure on sales team. That's micromanagement. Expensive drugs can't be mucromanaged-thats opposite of leadership. So they put pressure on good reps and now you've just created an environment of distrust. Real issues aren't brought up and people are afraid to bring up real issues that over time addressed would change direction of company. Now everybody is looking for a job knowing they are next on chopping block. Guess what the good reps you hired will leave and talk to their friends. Guess what this is a small industry, they tell their friends and your next option is incompetent reps who have a couple of years in oncology. This company will never be suvcessful!!!! Its the environment created by perry.our very own micromanage who only knows the big pharma ideas of pressure and reach and frequency. Ive noticed management getting on this site bashing leaving for other companies. Guess what your reps are much smarter than your incompetent drivel. We voice this site as we can't voice our concerns with direct management. Thus you failed us!

 

Teasro got bought out and the reps did well. Clovis is struggling but I also think Mahaffey will sell soon too so I have recently taken a position. I understand your thoughts about not leaving much on the table at KPTI but to go to a company that offers no initial stock to sell Melphelan is not a good move when there are others TGTX, ADC that will be a better fit/offer more. I never got a good resposne as to why they would wait to grant equity.

In the last few years many comanies KPTI, Beigene, Epizyme, and now Oncopetides have all had major flaws with their offers/companies. Im thinking the golden age of biotech is long in the rear view mirror so once you have a decent equity position in a comopany it would take more than the Onco offer to leave.

 

You may want to fact check your Tesaro info...most of their shares were under water and not near the $250 a share LM was touting. I have a lot of friends/colleagues there and they were very disappointed. I think they got bought for $75 a share and their initial 5000 options were at $50...meaning most reps made around $125k to $200k pre tax. Not saying OP’s equity proposition is ideal but worth a shot over what’s happening here. For many of us we don’t really care or get to excited about the product. I’d rather sell a less than exciting drug in a good culture with a better base and IC than an new exciting drug at a poorly run and now toxic company. Lastly yes there will always we other opportunities both both companies you mentioned will have their own challenges and issue and nothing says anyone has to stay at OP if offers come from other companies. Happens all the time. This is a bird in hand play and a devil you situation. I have the OP job and I know a lot of the people there. I don’t have another offer from ADC or TG and I don’t know a ton of people at other. I’ll definitely talk with both companies but OP is a fine landing spot to get away from KPTI. Yes, sometimes is OK to run from something versus run to
something...that is how bad KPTI is.

 

What your not understanding is the environment is toxic here. I hate feeling this way because I can't do my job and micromanagement. When the companies only answer is to try and keep someone due to options we are the morons they think we are. We are much smarter than you!

 

Looking to move to Beigene. Now concerned. What’s some of the “major flaws” to beware of? Thanks in advance!

 

The issue is you do not have a decent equity position...OP will have equity position that will make us whole versus what we left on the table here which really wasn’t that much. Based your post and my experience here of your 10K shares you are sitting on about 4900 unvested. So even at a zero cost basis with a buyout price of $50(I’m being generously optimistic.) you only stand to forfeit $245K. So less that an year of totally comp. I’m very confident that OP will deliver on their commitment of an equity play that will make up that $245k which is pie in the sky based on current and future revenue models for KPTI. Not to mention working in a better environment with a higher base and an IC plan that can only be better the mess at KPTI. I think you may be too hung up on the equity piece...you really don’t have that much on the table.

 

I agree that 50 a share is optimistic too. But you are comparing your total comp of base, bonus, small rsu grant to proposed buyout without adding in my base/bonus. I wish you well but going to sell melphelan with no strong equity grant upfront was a pnic move in my mind. We all make about the same with base/bonus. The equity buyout is our only chance to make sizable money in one fell swoop. You are now starting over in that regard.

That said I will be looking to always interview as this place is flaming and we all know it. I just wont move for a company that does not offer equity upfront. We all know things are often portrayed one way in the interview process only to change drastically.

 

Again it is a bird in the hand play. Don’t have to stay at OP forever. If they fail to deliver on the promise of equity many us will seek employment elsewhere when a better opportunity comes. Also not sure I understand why you think this is a “panic move”. Why stay at a place that is “flaming” when I can go make a larger base, a real bonus and a new sign on? I will make more money on my W2 at OP than at KPTI so all you are holding out hope for is some low success rate of a high premium buyout. Which a million things could happen that pushes the share price the other way ala Clovis and Tesaro. You are banking way too much on the hope and speculation of a premium buyout that at max will probably only pay you out an additional $200k on the high end of your unvested shares IF they accelerate your vesting which is not guaranteed. Add to that you don’t know that you will win a job at any of the places you mentioned nor do you know what their equity offering will be, nor do you know if any of them will be successful and/or be sold for a premium, and/or if they will accelerate the vesting schedule...ask Kite how that worked out for them...

I guess those of us who left have a different perspective on what “sizable money“ is. If we agree that $50 is too optimistic and at $50 we only stand to “lose” $240k on our unvested shares which to many of us is not “sizable money” and with any luck of an equity play from OP we have a shot at making that up and then some IF it works out.

If you truly believe that there is a $50 buyout price for KPTI, but you don’t like working here and for you the equity is the anchor you could also take $100k of your own money and buy shares for $16 and if it gets sold for $50 you just made close to the $240k you left in the table.

I have been in start up hem/onc sales for over 25 years, I’ve seen what looks good and made some truly “sizable money”. I’ve also been at companies who were full of promise and failed miserably...KPTI feels more like one of those than the big moneymakers. Lastly from that experience I do not get hung up on the product past will it be safe and effective. Give me an approved product that helps people and that is all I need from the product. This drug will be used, it has its place and will help people. If “the drug” you sell is so important Merck and BMS have what are arguably the most successful oncology products since Avastin and Rituxan. Seli is not that...

 

This call is EXACTLY what is wrong with the company and why people are leaving and will continue to leave. Terrible.

 

So bad...NO ONE is going to call you MK!

 

Can’t wait to see what piddling special equity grant we will get? Anything less than 5k shares won’t get it done.

 

Never have I worked for a company that had such uninspiring leadership. JD, MK, and PM are a joke. This call is the end for many of us.

 

Total disaster. That did not help or change my mind about staying here. It’s a lost cause.

 

So let me get this straight.... After they fire people that was really questionable to begin with and made no logical sense to do so in a "Launch", they are now thinking of giving equity shares (A week after the latest round of people getting fired) to try and keep people. That right there should show you the "Brains" behind who is running this $hitshow. I think it would of been a lot cheaper to have kept those fired Reps (Majority of them were great), and maintain some sort of "Culture" even though it had been going downhill well before the first round of firings (JD)... More people are leaving by choice now in the coming weeks. MK has no clue how to run a company. He is well over his head. What do you expect from a guy that has a double digit marketing team for 1 drug. Ridiculous! He should start firing Marketing, or even better, worthless Medical.

 

Wonder how many we lose today? Friday seems to be resignation day. I’m going with four.