Sentinel Return Thoughts


Stop calling Sentinel "broad spectrum"...it only controls (does not treat) one hookworm, it does not kill adult fleas and does nothing against ticks. hardly "broad spectrum". This is a desperate move by Novartis and I am not risking my Trifexis, Frontline/Heartgard business for them. I like my Novartis rep but this move is bad for the industry.

Not bad for the industry....just bad for distribution and companies that are not diverse. It's driving prices down....and with only 50% of dogs on HW prevention, how couldn't this help? As for Sentinel only getting on hookworm, wouldn't that be the same for Trifexis too? But here's how you show your stupidity.....the other 2 hooks have almost no prevalence in the US. Less than 1-2%. One is only found on Gulf regions and other in nothern Canada. This is more proof that distributors are clueless.
 

Has anyone stopped to think what actually makes the clinic more money? What is more profitable to you and your company? Has anyone thought that maybe Novartis could be setting them selves up for failure in many ways? 1) price... I own a clinic good luck selling me! I would rather pay closer to the full price, for several reasons one if I buy it for $25 mark it up to $50 I only make $25 (we all know pet meds will have it soon so we will have to compete with them. Two I buy Trifexis for $35 sale it for $70-75 which do I NET more on...? Before someone corrects me on price I just made it up for argument sake... Those are my thoughts for some of you to chew on... However if a clinic want it take the order!!!

This is exactly why I wonder who posts here.....What Trifexis sku can vets buy for 35$? The Trifexis I buy cost me 50$ plus per 6 mos supply and we sell it for 90$ plus!!! We are going to keep trifexis and heartgaurd and add sentinel then give clients the choice. Hopefully more clients will decide to put their pets on HW prev of some kind and leave not feeling cornered or ripped off
 
This is exactly why I wonder who posts here.....What Trifexis sku can vets buy for 35$? The Trifexis I buy cost me 50$ plus per 6 mos supply and we sell it for 90$ plus!!! We are going to keep trifexis and heartgaurd and add sentinel then give clients the choice. Hopefully more clients will decide to put their pets on HW prev of some kind and leave not feeling cornered or ripped off

If you look back he/she said they just made up the pricing for argument sake... It's your clinic do what you want! I'm going to tell you this to try and help you out. Do you want to be wal-mart? If so you need Wal-marts check book. Look at your carrying cost to stock three HW preventives. Giving them a "choice". While your at it give them a choice in the antibiotics they need to use for the pets infection. Sounds like you need to carry Idexx and Abaxis HW test to give your clients a choice.
 
Hey genius.....you're compliance on Trifexis is 6 months.....with Sentinel (before price reduction) it was best in industry at 9 months. That's 3 extra months of revenue....and oh by the way, its better for the animal....you know, the reason you got in this game? What happens to your revenue if you actually get 12 months? Could this free up money too for pet owner spend more money in other needed areas (i.e. - derm, dentals, blood work, etc...). Vets are dumb. They need to be told to put their underwear on.

Correct. So you answered you own question or statement. Trifexis is better why kills fleas. How can sentinel work in the long run if everyone dog is not on it. Fleas from neighboring houses still will be jumping on the dogs.
 
Correct. So you answered you own question or statement. Trifexis is better why kills fleas. How can sentinel work in the long run if everyone dog is not on it. Fleas from neighboring houses still will be jumping on the dogs.

Bottom line is.....sell Sentinel.....Butt Shine boys or you will be run over with tire marks all over your faces. The very fact that you are upset by this shows you that you are not needed at all in this HW / Flea game. That has you upset. Novartis doesn't need to pay for a sale they can get without you. Elanco can't do that. The market will dictate - driven by consumers (not by vets) - that Trifexis will go back to being a niche' product. Sentinel, formerly a niche' product, is now Interceptor at an incredibly price. Novartis didn't make this move for the approval of Butler. They made this move to gain back it's market share and customer loyalty. Novartis also makes products in just about every other therapeutic area - so this helps that business too. Remember, we don't need you -- we are literally throwing you bones when we give you sales credit.....as you continaully talk about Trifexis behind our backs. You will be exposed as being selfish, greedy distributor reps who don't care about pets or pet owners. Vets are nothing without pets and pet owners. Remember that.
 
Bottom line is.....sell Sentinel.....Butt Shine boys or you will be run over with tire marks all over your faces. The very fact that you are upset by this shows you that you are not needed at all in this HW / Flea game. That has you upset. Novartis doesn't need to pay for a sale they can get without you. Elanco can't do that. The market will dictate - driven by consumers (not by vets) - that Trifexis will go back to being a niche' product. Sentinel, formerly a niche' product, is now Interceptor at an incredibly price. Novartis didn't make this move for the approval of Butler. They made this move to gain back it's market share and customer loyalty. Novartis also makes products in just about every other therapeutic area - so this helps that business too. Remember, we don't need you -- we are literally throwing you bones when we give you sales credit.....as you continaully talk about Trifexis behind our backs. You will be exposed as being selfish, greedy distributor reps who don't care about pets or pet owners. Vets are nothing without pets and pet owners. Remember that.



Now this is funny... Basically you are saying your not needed as well because all the pet owners are going to rush right in and get your product due to its name... You really could put a monkey in your place and their would be no difference.
"Talk about Trifexis behind your back". Last time I checked we are in distributution so we give options... You know we carry it how is that "behind your back"?
 
Now this is funny... Basically you are saying your not needed as well because all the pet owners are going to rush right in and get your product due to its name... You really could put a monkey in your place and their would be no difference.
"Talk about Trifexis behind your back". Last time I checked we are in distributution so we give options... You know we carry it how is that "behind your back"?

Novartis reps are needed because of the relationships needed to sell, support, and train the animal hospital. Which is why Novartis hired us in the first place.

Distributors only exist because companies think they fill a need for simple supply and demand, unless you are Elanco. Who used Butler to basically run their Trifexis dinner meetings as they tried to pluck short sighted Novartis reps (eager for a quick buck and who had not vision for the future) to fill in their sales force.

Talk about putting a monkey in place. That's what Elanco, Merial, and Distributors are. Monkeys that chase the quickest buck out there and have no real education on anything they spout off about. It's embarrassing.

As for "talking Trifexis behind your back" that statement refers to you partnering with Elanco reps during the Novartis year plus stock out of Sentinel / Interecptor. Month after month you dopes where into loyal Sentinel accounts trying like hell to get them to come to Trifexis. These were Novartis's loyal top 20% accounts. They repeatedly told you "No", but you kept trying. We, Novartis reps, kept these accounts updated as best as possible and they waited for us. Now they are being rewarded.

Most every account that jumped ship over to Trifexis from Sentinel / Interceptor now has painted themselves into a corner and the smart ones of that bunch realize they never should have done it. Face it, Trifexis is a niche' product and will be reduced to the MS it deserves which is about 10 to 15%. They priced themselves out of the game - and the dopey distributor reps are selling them on profits they'll lose if they leave Trifexis.

What they don't realize is that Novartis will get them double the compliance and that will make up most of that difference. Who in their right mind is going to pay $275 a year for a year supply of Trifexis on a large dog with Sentinel and Parastar Plus combo costs them $215 and it takes care of ticks? Sentinel doesn't cause seizures. Sentinel is way easier to take. Sentinel has an IGR. Docs know Sentinel. Trifexis is finished. Next year they are going to have to drop their price. What happens to that profit argument then dumb distributor rep?
 
I think Sentinel will be big when it comes back. Just like with anything, keep selling core products and Merial and add this to the mix. If the doctor wants Sentinel, then we have it. If they don't we have other options.

So after one week, based on vet's response, Sentinel's return has been GIGANTIC. Keep selling your "core products" because YOU make more commisions per box. If you do this, you will be exposed as only having YOUR best interest in mind and not the vet's, the pet owner's, and the pets. That much is certain.

If you chose to sell Sentinel over your core products, you'd 1) keep your integrity with your customers; 2) make up lost commisions per box on volumel; and 3) You won't have egg on your face next year when you sell Parastar Plus (which is almost 20% less expensive than Frontline Tritak - which Merial is copying Novartis on this after failed Certifect).....and when you start selling FL Tritak now later this year (if you aren't already in the South)> Now with Sentinel back, the south will take a huge hit on what was sold last year.

Novartis took the major hit last year and distribution and raked in money from Elanco and Merial. Those days are over. Now it is time for anybody that directly compete against Novartis to take a major hit.

It is mind boggling the reaction so far from distribution - did you really think you lived such a charmed life? This is big business. Kill or be killed. Novartis is coming back with guns blazing. Distribution should realize this. Write this year off and take your losses. Maybe next year you'll smartin' up and partner with us more.
 
The market will dictate - driven by consumers (not by vets) - that Trifexis will go back to being a niche' product. Sentinel, formerly a niche' product, is now Interceptor at an incredibly price.

Novartis didn't make this move for the approval of Butler. They made this move to gain back it's market share and customer loyalty. You will be exposed as being selfish, greedy distributor reps who don't care about pets or pet owners.

Vets are nothing without pets and pet owners. Remember that.

1. Sentinel is not Interceptor. For some pet owners, it's a waste at any price because their dogs vomit it right back up and *then* they've got a problem. Further, why feed the dogs a pesticide when an IGR is safer? It's actually worthless. (Trifexis is OUT of the question.)

If Novartis thinks they will "gain back" market share and customer loyalty, they really are delusional. The stress and ill will of the past year can *only* be offset by a truly good faith effort. Things that might have been. With mosquito season upon us, things just got exponentially worse for dogs that cannot take any of the Ivermectin derivatives or tolerate Lufenuron. Discontinuing Interceptor and bringing back Sentinel is anything but good faith. Novartis' other products (Deramaxx & Clomicalm, specifically) are pure crap. Fortunately, there are good alternatives. (There are no good alternatives to Interceptor and Ivermectin because so many dogs have seizures and autoimmune issues.)

2. Good luck convincing pet owners that *any* of the pharmaceutical companies "care" about animals. That ship sailed a long time ago and it ain't comin' back. I don't know anymore, *what* this is about- maybe money doesn't even enter into it. It makes no sense.

3. Pharmaceutical companies screwed themselves and the vets who shill for them. I used to trust my vets more than I trusted doctors. I now have a "do not trust" list for my adopters. They screwed all breed rescues, too, because there's no way to know if they're adopting out a dog with drug sensitivity who will either become A. unpredictably vicious (lawsuit!) or B. end up dying anyway after catastrophically high vet bills trying to find out what's wrong. There's more to it than MDR1.

Novartis had a really good thing in Interceptor. Too bad they were too stupid (or corrupt) to hang on to it. I will never again use one of their products (along with Fort Dodge and some others) when there is an alternative available.
 


Write your reply...