George, who runs Roche’s US drug biz, otherwise known as Hoffmann-La Roche, is out there hustling, trying to convince companies they should stockpile now in case a pandemic comes to pass. And like any good salesman, he uses the hard sell tactic: The threat is real, others are buying it and there’s a difficult manufacturing process, so you better place your order today.

“It is the first time I have ever engaged a business in a dialogue over a prescription medicine,” Abercrombie, who trained as a pharmacist, tells Reuters. And then practices his pitch. “Now is the time to order because it takes 6 to 9 months to make a batch of Tamiflu. It is a very complex process….The threat of a pandemic is as real as ever. Companies realize that they have to put a corporate plan together.”

Drugmakers usually don’t send the ceo to knock on doors, but….

the threat of a bird flu pandemic has forced governments and companies to think about public health in ways they never did before, Reuters notes. And this is creating an unusual business opportunity for Roche. George says 350 US companies bought Tamiflu, and 43 million treatment courses, generally 10 pills each, had been sold to the states and the federal government.

“I am speaking around the country. I am meeting with CEOs and executives from the top five companies in various sectors,” George continues. “The spectrum runs from ‘we know it is a threat but we haven’t had time to plan’ to companies that have full blown plans and have begun to stock Tamiflu…What keeps me awake at night … for Roche, we will be in the bullseye. People will want Tamiflu and we will not be able to make it fast enough.”

Unlike some other reps, it’s not likely that he’ll sue for overtime.