Eisai said it would cut 900 jobs, including 600 in the US, as it winds down a co-promotion deal with Pfizer and shifts toward a lean commercial structure it says will thrust it into the top 10 in women’s oncology. The Japanese firm’s top seller, Alzheimer’s drug Aricept, which it co-promoted with Pfizer, lost US patent protection in November, and its partnership with Pfizer expires at the end of 2012. Aricept generated around $3.9 billion for the fiscal year and accounted for 40% of the company’s sales.
Epocrates launched an e-sampling platform through its web properties and mobile apps. One Eleven Software’s SampleServer is powering the back end of the initiative. Through the e-sampling program, doctors using Epocrates can view a “sample closet” of available product samples.
The US Supreme Court refused to hear appeals brought by pharmaceutical companies seeking to deny overtime pay to sales reps. By refusing to hear the cases, the Supreme Court ostensibly agreed with a federal appeals court in New York, which delivered two separate verdicts in favor of overtime pay for sales reps at Merck-owned Schering-Plough, and Novartis. The decision hinged on whether or not sales reps fall under the “outside sales” exception for overtime pay.
From the April 01, 2011 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
