Aaaaaaannd Scene…

I AM FINALLY FREE!!! I have waited for this day for many years, but these past six months have shifted me so much that the anticipation of this day was literally eating away at me on a visceral level. My golden handcuffs from Pharma have been unlocked and I am completely free. FOREVER.

I think it is really important to be fair balanced as I start to purge my thoughts surrounding my Pharma tenure. First, I will forever be grateful for the lifestyle that I was able to secure for myself and my family through Pharma. I have made insane amounts of money throughout the years, I have traveled the world and experienced things I probably never would never have without. Pharma welcomed me into the massive network that I currently have, consisting of thousands of people throughout the world that have crossed my path and left a mark in my memory. I have made some of the most INCREDIBLE and lasting friendships, I have contacts with the top Physicians in almost every specialty and I have gained more personal and professional training than I could ask for. I will always be grateful for what Pharma has provided me, so please know this before all else. It is important to shed light on the good that came from the past 18 years because if I do not, I will (and occasionally still do) breakdown with the memories from the dark side of Pharma. This past June was the catalyst for me to breakaway from this industry that had once attracted me, as I realized how it was slowly destroying my soul.

Pharma, oh Pharma, how you present such an illusion. I entered into Pharma sales with the intention of helping people. Leveraging the medical knowledge that I had prior to entering the industry and my strong passion for empowering people, seemed like the perfect fit for me. I started my career during a transitional time in Pharma sales. The public was learning of the outrageous antics that Pharma was pulling to “sell” doctors on the medications we represented. Money was pouring out of everywhere. There were no budgets, it was a free for all on our Corporate Amex cards. I remember having Amex bills upwards of 20K/month and not an eye was blinked. This was the NORM. We were able to spend money anywhere. We could take physicians and their staff to MLB games via Limo’s, we had spa dates with physicians, we provided “dine and dash” dinner programs, any holiday would obviously be a great excuse for reps to out do each other with “educational opportunities”. Christmas would involve a rep going to a Tree farm, inviting any ‘high decile” physicians to attend with their family, pick out a tree and have it paid for by the rep. I heard of reps that would conduct “gas and dash”, where a rep would literally stand at a gas pump, invite physicians to come by at a certain time, the rep would pay for the gas and even pump it, all in exchange for an “educational detail” while the gas was pumped. The “educational detail” was the premise behind any of the examples listed above. It became almost a competition to see who could be more creative in providing those “educational details”. It was out of control. I came in on the tail end of all these shenanigans and never took part in most of the examples listed above. I’m not going to lie, there were many of us who thought these “sales techniques” were shady and never participated in many of them. But they were real and rampant.

The Government decided to create a voluntary program called The Sunshine Act and PHARMA code. Any major player in Pharma signed the “voluntary” code of conduct that was intended to create transparency for the public. The Sunshine act required any money provided to a Physician must be recorded and then be made publicly available. Enter “Dollars for Docs”, a public site that allows anyone to type in their Physician’s name and see how much money they have received from Pharma. Some of the numbers are disturbingly high, think millions. Again, in fair balance, some Physicians are highly sought after because of their Training, their CV’s (curriculum vitae), or Hospital Associations. Those same Physicians are pursued by multiple Pharma companies and are handsomely compensated for their time. They are sought after for drug panel reviews, marketing insight, brand commitment and speaking engagements. They have 3rd party companies that pay them to evaluate the Pharma reps selling abilities. The reality is, Doctors still want to know what other doctors are doing when it comes to new drugs, they too fall under “herd mentality” with prescribing drugs. The more prominent the Physician is within the targeted specialty, the greater the chance you have of other Physicians coming to an educational dinner to learn about a specific drug and then prescribe it. That also means the more prominent the Doc, the higher the compensation. Back in 2012 the running “honorarium” for a dinner program with a Physician was $2600. That was just the honorarium, if travel was needed, that of course was all arranged and paid for through Pharma. With the Sunshine Act, the breakfast/lunch/dinner programs were basically all that were left as options for “educating” providers. We lost all ability to leave our promotional pens, note pads, etc. A massive shift from once was, but definitely needed.

After spending 18 years in this ever changing and volatile industry, I have watched pattern after pattern emerge. I literally grew with my very small and unknown Company named Sanofi-Synthelabo, took part in a hostile takeover of Aventis and all of its products, then to become Sanofi-Aventis. After a few CEO changes, Sanofi became what it is known today as the MAJOR player it is, Sanofi. I have watched rep after rep get laid off, fired, rehired, laid off, hired again over an over. The turn over rate inside Pharma is high, but no one ever leaves the industry, enter the nickname “golden handcuffs”.

I had longed to leave Pharma and my golden handcuffs for years now, I have never felt more free from the burdens that I have carried from this industry for so long. I have never felt more free to dispel the illusions of Pharma. I will gladly do so over more blog entries. I will answer questions, as there are no industry secrets, the deception has always been there for all to see, it has just been shaded really, really well.

There has never been a more important time for people to understand the dynamics between Pharma and our Government. They are a one hand feeds the other cycle, and we the people ARE NOT included in that cycle. We the people are the casualties and fall out from this closed loop cycle. I can tell you first hand that what is happening in our country at the present time, is NOT, NEVER has been and NEVER will be about ANYTHING other than the health of the Pharmaceutical company and Governments pockets.

“Chains be broken, lives be healed, eyes be opened….” -Hillsong United

So much love and respect.

xo- e