GlaxoSmithKline said it would cut back on the size of its sales team and reinvest in R&D in the event Pfizer decides to scale back its sales force, GSK’s chief executive J.P. Garnier said.
“We do not need those large sales forces to do the job.We need them because the competition is trying to increase their noise level. It’s a competitive world and people are throwing more armies at the problem,” Garnier said during the drug maker’s 2004 earnings call last week.
“If sanity can be restored and the arms race starts to slow down it will be good for the industry,” he added. Garnier’s comments came in response to an analyst’s claims that Pfizer would reduce its 38,000 member global sales force by 15 percent to 30 percent. Pfizer is expected to provide further guidance at an investor meeting April 5, however a decision could come earlier depending on the outcome of this week’s FDA advisory committee meeting on COX-2s.
GSK would cut sales force if Pfizer takes the lead
GlaxoSmithKline said it would cut back on the size of its sales team and reinvest in R&D in the event Pfizer decides to scale back its sales force, GSK’s chief executive J.P. Garnier said.
