Showing posts with label bucket of money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bucket of money. Show all posts
Monday, November 02, 2009
Friday, November 14, 2008
Pharma Giles on JUPITER
“So me an’ Paul were ‘aving a couple of pints dahn the pub, as yer do, like, when ‘e sez t’me, “’Ere, Dave, ‘ow’s the ol’ Crestor sales doin’ then?”
“Leave it aht,” I sez. “We keep runnin’ trial after bleedin’ trial based on tryin’ to show some sort of worthwhile clinical benefit, an’ all we keep comin’ up wiv is bugger all, know wotta mean, like? Best fing we can do is t’ let it slide off patent in a coupla year’s time, like, an’ jus’ cut our losses.”
“Sounds t’ me like you ain’t designin’ the trials right,” sez Paul, neckin’ ‘is Stella. “Wot you need is a way of testing all the old geezers you sign up, such that when you put ‘em on your drug, some of ‘em give the answers you want rather than poppin’ their clogs or getting’ diabetes an’ stuff like they usually do.”
“Yeah, right,” I sez, “an’ where am I gonna find this magic test, then?
“Funny you should say that, Dave ol’ son,” he sez to me, wiv a big wink. “It jus’ so ‘appens that I happen to ‘ave a personal patent on a rahver nifty little test for CAP…”
“On yer bike,” I sez. “The only fing I reckon you can test for is CRAP, cos you’re spouting it right now.”
“Nah, straight up Dave,” he sez, all serious, like. “It’s kosher. CAP. C Active Protein. If you make sure all the fat old geezers and dears on your next big trial are chock full of CAP, chances are they’re gonna respond to your old Crestor. And wiv’ my test tellin’ you that, you can’t fail.”
“So ‘ow much are you charging fer this magic test o’ yours, then?” I arsks.
“A tenner,” he sez. “Thas nuffink compared to wot you’re chargin’ for Crestor over the course of a week or two. ‘Course, I only make a quid or two on each test, but if it all comes up roses, then you get to shift a load o’ Crestor, I get to flog my test kits, and it’s….”
“BUCKETSAMONEY!!!!” we both shout.
“Well, get ‘em in, then,” sez Paul. “Ere’s t’ doin’ business wiv yer.”
A coupla pint o’ Stella, later, Paul sez t’ me, “Ere, this clinical trial,” e’ sez. “Wot yer callin’ it, then?”
“Well,” I sez, “it’s a big, bloated ball of toxic gas that’s basically ‘ostile to ‘uman life, like, so we wuz thinkin’ of callin’ it “JUPITER”, know wot I mean?”, I sez.
“Like it,” sez Paul. “An’ where are yer gonna publicise the results?”
“Oh, it’ll be in all the reputable journals as usual,” I sez.
“Wot, like the BMJ and the NEJM, sorta fing?”
“Gordon Bennett!” I sez, “don’t be a plonker! Nah, we’ll get it the Wall Street Journal and the Daily Express, same as we always do when we wanna uncritically hype a load of average results, hide the duff ones and pretend we got a wonder drug on our ‘ands…”
“Blimey, it really could be bucketsamoney,” sez Paul.
“Course, we can’t do nuffin illegal, like, like pushin’ the stuff to doctors before we got approval for people wiv ‘igh CAP n’ that,” sez I, tryin’ to keep a straight face.
“That would’n be right, would it, like?” sez Paul, tryin’ not to piss ‘imself.
“Nah”, I sez….
“BUCKETSAMONEY” we both sez together. “Mine’s a Stella….”
And the rest is history.
Apologies to Harry Enfield and Merrill Goozner.
“Leave it aht,” I sez. “We keep runnin’ trial after bleedin’ trial based on tryin’ to show some sort of worthwhile clinical benefit, an’ all we keep comin’ up wiv is bugger all, know wotta mean, like? Best fing we can do is t’ let it slide off patent in a coupla year’s time, like, an’ jus’ cut our losses.”
“Sounds t’ me like you ain’t designin’ the trials right,” sez Paul, neckin’ ‘is Stella. “Wot you need is a way of testing all the old geezers you sign up, such that when you put ‘em on your drug, some of ‘em give the answers you want rather than poppin’ their clogs or getting’ diabetes an’ stuff like they usually do.”
“Yeah, right,” I sez, “an’ where am I gonna find this magic test, then?
“Funny you should say that, Dave ol’ son,” he sez to me, wiv a big wink. “It jus’ so ‘appens that I happen to ‘ave a personal patent on a rahver nifty little test for CAP…”
“On yer bike,” I sez. “The only fing I reckon you can test for is CRAP, cos you’re spouting it right now.”
“Nah, straight up Dave,” he sez, all serious, like. “It’s kosher. CAP. C Active Protein. If you make sure all the fat old geezers and dears on your next big trial are chock full of CAP, chances are they’re gonna respond to your old Crestor. And wiv’ my test tellin’ you that, you can’t fail.”
“So ‘ow much are you charging fer this magic test o’ yours, then?” I arsks.
“A tenner,” he sez. “Thas nuffink compared to wot you’re chargin’ for Crestor over the course of a week or two. ‘Course, I only make a quid or two on each test, but if it all comes up roses, then you get to shift a load o’ Crestor, I get to flog my test kits, and it’s….”
“BUCKETSAMONEY!!!!” we both shout.
“Well, get ‘em in, then,” sez Paul. “Ere’s t’ doin’ business wiv yer.”
A coupla pint o’ Stella, later, Paul sez t’ me, “Ere, this clinical trial,” e’ sez. “Wot yer callin’ it, then?”
“Well,” I sez, “it’s a big, bloated ball of toxic gas that’s basically ‘ostile to ‘uman life, like, so we wuz thinkin’ of callin’ it “JUPITER”, know wot I mean?”, I sez.
“Like it,” sez Paul. “An’ where are yer gonna publicise the results?”
“Oh, it’ll be in all the reputable journals as usual,” I sez.
“Wot, like the BMJ and the NEJM, sorta fing?”
“Gordon Bennett!” I sez, “don’t be a plonker! Nah, we’ll get it the Wall Street Journal and the Daily Express, same as we always do when we wanna uncritically hype a load of average results, hide the duff ones and pretend we got a wonder drug on our ‘ands…”
“Blimey, it really could be bucketsamoney,” sez Paul.
“Course, we can’t do nuffin illegal, like, like pushin’ the stuff to doctors before we got approval for people wiv ‘igh CAP n’ that,” sez I, tryin’ to keep a straight face.
“That would’n be right, would it, like?” sez Paul, tryin’ not to piss ‘imself.
“Nah”, I sez….
“BUCKETSAMONEY” we both sez together. “Mine’s a Stella….”
And the rest is history.
Apologies to Harry Enfield and Merrill Goozner.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
The UK's Indy covers the Zubillaga Saga
A doctor's is a 'big bucket of money, grab a handful', said fired Astra sales chief
Published: 21 April 2007
The pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is at the centre of a storm in the US after firing one of its sales directors for comments he made likening doctors' offices to "a big bucket of money".
Documents have surfaced on industry insider websites allegedly describing illegal drug marketing practices and AstraZeneca has since launched an investigation into the activities of several employees.
Mike Zubillaga, who was regional sales director for AstraZeneca's Mid-Atlantic Business Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania, was quoted in a internal newsletter saying: "I see it like this: there is a big bucket of money sitting in every office. Every time you go, you reach your hand in the bucket and grab a handful. The more times you are in, the more money goes in your pocket. Every time you make a call, you are looking to make more money."
Unfortunately for Mr Zubillaga, who was intending to motivate his sales staff to sell more cancer drugs, an industry blogger got hold of the newsletter from a whistleblower and published the comments, sparking an online debate about the ethics of drug companies.
Concern was raised after another comment from Mr Zubillaga in the same newsletter appeared to highlight a more serious issue. He allegedly appeared to be suggesting sales staff should counter-promote drugs, which is selling by comparing another company's drug, a practice prohibited in the US.
AstraZeneca sacked Mr Zubillaga just hours after his comments surfaced on the web two weeks ago and said "the direction he gave the team violated the core purpose of the company".
The company said it was investigating claims about sales practices and compliance issues raised by various blogs. One group calling its self the AstraZeneca Group of Seven has been set up for employees "to submit comments anonymously".
"The company takes claims of misconduct very seriously and investigates these in a timely and effective manner," AstraZeneca said. Some investigations had been initiated and concluded while others were ongoing, the company said. "Responding to complaints is a fundamental element of our compliance programme and is consistent with the ethical values that underpin our business."
Some commentators have suggested that Mr Zubillaga was simply telling the truth, although others have taken offence. Peter Rost, a former marketing executive at Pfizer, who first posted the newsletter on his "whistleblower" blog two weeks ago, wrote: "AstraZeneca lacked the internal controls to make sure the truth didn't get out, and now they are trying to show they are holier than thou, by firing the guy who said what everyone knows to be true ... Instead of a reprimand, AstraZeneca created a sacrificial lamb to cover the corporate rear end."
Friday, April 20, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
AstraZeneca - those who forget history.....
From the NYT June 2003:
AstraZeneca, the large pharmaceutical company, pleaded guilty today to a felony charge of health care fraud and agreed to pay $355 million to settle criminal and civil accusations that it engaged in a nationwide scheme to illegally market a prostate cancer drug.
The government said the company's employees had given illegal financial inducements to as many as 400 doctors across the country to persuade them to prescribe the drug, Zoladex. Those inducements included thousands of free samples of Zoladex, worth hundreds of dollars each, which the physicians then billed to Medicare and other federal health care programs, prosecutors said. The company also gave doctors financial grants, paid them as consultants and provided free travel and entertainment, the government said.
The $355 million that AstraZeneca, a British company, agreed to pay is among the largest settlements in a heath care fraud case. Of that amount, about $64 million is a criminal fine. The company will pay about $266 million to the federal government to settle most of the civil accusations. An additional $25 million will go to settle accusations that it defrauded the Medicaid programs, which are partly financed by the states.
Now read this.
AstraZeneca, the large pharmaceutical company, pleaded guilty today to a felony charge of health care fraud and agreed to pay $355 million to settle criminal and civil accusations that it engaged in a nationwide scheme to illegally market a prostate cancer drug.
The government said the company's employees had given illegal financial inducements to as many as 400 doctors across the country to persuade them to prescribe the drug, Zoladex. Those inducements included thousands of free samples of Zoladex, worth hundreds of dollars each, which the physicians then billed to Medicare and other federal health care programs, prosecutors said. The company also gave doctors financial grants, paid them as consultants and provided free travel and entertainment, the government said.
The $355 million that AstraZeneca, a British company, agreed to pay is among the largest settlements in a heath care fraud case. Of that amount, about $64 million is a criminal fine. The company will pay about $266 million to the federal government to settle most of the civil accusations. An additional $25 million will go to settle accusations that it defrauded the Medicaid programs, which are partly financed by the states.
Now read this.
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