Schering-Plough Reps: Carrie Smith Cox Must Go
13 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // January 23rd, 2008 // 8:23 am
The drugmaker’s president is catching flak from all sides after reports she sold $28 million in stock last spring even as Schering-Plough and Merck pondered what to do with their controversial Vytorin study. You may recall the results were delayed nearly two years and the drugmakers briefly changed the primary endpoint without consulting their lead investigator. The upshot: Vytorin was no better than Zocor in reducing plaque in the carotid artery in a small, high-risk population, but did a better job of lowering LDL cholesterol.
Congress, meanwhile, is now investigating whether she engaged in insider trading. The whole episode is making life more difficult for Schering-Plough reps, who are seeing docs write fewer scrips for Vytorin. Not surprisingly, some are miffed. And so a poll on CafePharma, where detailers love to dish, so far indicates she should be fired, although a smaller group endorse a creative form of torture - forcing her to ride with a rep and visit docs all year.
One caveat: this is anything but a scientific poll and we understand that some people feel the site is nothing but an electronic bathroom wall. Nonetheless, there are nuggets to be gleaned from time to time and a temperature reading can be useful, however feverish. The poll closes next week, by the way. These are the preliminary results…
Fire her - 50 votes, or 75 percent;
Keep her on - 5 votes, or 7 percent;
Make her do ride alongs with Vytorin everyday - 12 votes, or 18 percent.
Hat tip to BrandweekNRX
Nathan
Innocent until proven guilty. This speculation is absurd. I don’t know anything about this woman. But I do know that executives sell stock and are issued stock for a huge variety of reasons. Generally their stock compensation package is (significantly) larger than their salary/bonus package. So these guys are selling stock all the time in order to liquidate their compensation.
This woman may be perfectly guilty — but let the courts decide. This sounds as bad as the Duke Lacrosse team accusations to me. The media has essentially made up their mind that this woman is guilty.
To prove my point: Why is this “survey” even being reported on Pharmalot? It’s not news. It doesn’t contain any new factual information. The only thing it accomplishes is to fan the flames of (in)justice against someone who may well be perfectly innocent.
Atlex
I agree with Nathan. Cafepharma tends to be the home for the most disgruntled of reps. Although this article points out that this is not a scientific poll, simply writing this story gives Cafepharma more credibility than it deserves. To imply even remotely that this represents the view of all Schering reps is disengenuous.
I have significant concerns about the acts of Cox and Hassan at S-P and at their previous companies; however, her financial dealings here represents very normal patterns that seem to have been fully scrutinized by Legal folks at S-P. I don’t even see the smoke here; I doubt there is a fire.
Ed Silverman
Hi Nathan and Atlex,
You’re correct - innocent until proven guilty. And some of the same points you note concerning various reasons execs sell stock were actually addressed in a question-and-answer interview we ran last Friday with a financial planner. The fellow we interviewed makes the same point you do - speculation, but no evidence, so let Congress do its job and let’s see what happens. If you missed that one, here is the link…
http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/01/taking-stock-vytorin-and-insider-trading/
Bear in mind that I issued some caveats about taking the poll at face value. It’s not scientific. That said, surveys such as this may not contain new facts, but surveys are regularly cited as ways to gauge thinking and sentiment. We’re in the midst of a presidential race. Are all those CNN viewer polls useless because they contain reactions but no new facts?
You obviously disagree, but I found this worth noting, because it provides a window - however imperfect - into reactions among some Schering-Plough employees. And this doesn’t purport to speak for all reps - the small number of voters is clearly stated and it also indicates the results are preliminary. In general, however, what employees think about a top exec’s actions and decisions is not only interesting, but can be important if it reflects issues that need to be addressed, sooner or later. And that’s why I ran this one.
One further point, and this concerns CafePharma. As I noted, the site is often an electronic bathroom wall. That said, what many people may not realize is that the site has also contained many accurate posts concerning internal doings at this or that company. In fact, some of those posts contained info that was not yet reported in the news media, but which served as a tip sheet and provided insight into ongoing actions. In other words, not everything on the site should be dismissed out of hand.
Cheers
ed at Pharmalot
Atlex
Ed, I know that we agree to disagree on use of CafePharma as a relevant sounding board. I do want to respond to your comment about letting Congress do its job. Congress’ job is to make law and not necessarily to enforce it; that’s the job of the executive branch (the FBI, the SEC, the Justice Dpt., etc.). If Federal prosecutors believe that an investigation is warranted, so be it. If Congress believes that the Feds are negligent, ask them to explain. Congressional action, in this instance, smacks of politics. There is a group of politicians who are looking to make political hay out of everything the pharma industry does, particularly if they can skew it for political gain, even when it is both legal and ethical.
Ed Silverman
Hi Atlex,
Understood. I was actually referring to the remarks made by the financial planner in the question-and-answer interview from last Friday. I can’t speak for him, but I believe the point he was trying to make was to let the appropriate government authority do its job. Hope that helps.
ed
Nathan
Ed,
CNN and MSNBC do not take polls on whether or not particular defendants are guilty. They take polls about opinions of an audience that actually matters — the voters. The readers at CafePharma have no say in the future of this lady, so their opinions are irrelevant. They have little or no additional information other than that which is available to you and I. Therefore their opinion should matter no more than anyone else’s.
My problem is that your site (Pharmalot) is primarily a NEWS website. Most readers use your site to keep up with the happenings of the pharma industry. You dilute your credibility and impartiality by running “entertainment” pieces (like this one) that masquerade as news. There was nothing newsworthy about this post. It’s something like what I would read on a Pharma version of “Entertainment Tonightâ€!
It’s certainly your prerogative to post what you want — but I’ve come to expect to read NEWS at the Pharmalot site. This was not news (or even informed opinion), by any stretch of the imagination.
Ed Silverman
Hi Nathan,
At the risk of beating the proverbial dead horse, I’ll try to be clearer - generally speaking, a ceo will do what he or she wants, irrespective of employee sentiment.
However, there are times - such as a crisis or a scandal - when employee sentiment can matter. Such moments can influence morale, job performance, retention or recruitment - and interfere with the ability to achieve corporate goals. A ceo who ignores employees during such episodes may be doing so at his or her own peril.
The Vytorin controversy is shaping up as one of those episodes. This is a topic of great interest and concern to Schering-Plough employees of all stripes, whether they work at the Kenilworth, NJ, headquarters or in the field. And so as I already stated in my previous comment, the survey provides a window - however imperfect - into the thinking of some of those employees. And it is for these reasons that I ran the survey - not for entertainment purposes, as you put it.
And with all due respect, I was not taking sides in the matter by choosing to run the survey. Nor did I take sides by running a question-and-answer with a financial planner who expressed skepticism with the rush to accuse SGP execs of insider trading. I attempted to offer differing points of view. That’s called the bigger picture.
Hope this helps,
ed
Chris
My guess is that the poll reflects additional concerns with Carrie Cox’s leadership beyond the current insider trading issues.
NotherNathan
S-P has a lot on their plate.
- Congress has requested that all files/notes be submitted concerning any discussion of ENHANCE
- C. Cox investigation/inquiry into insider trading
- Sales of both Vytorin and Zetia dropping more than 10% in one week
- No announcement to the public other than newpaper ads from MRK or SGP
- The unfortunate timing of Vioxx being pulled from the market the same time Vytorin’s ENHANCE was complete but not published
DAB
You should ask the former Pharmacia/Searle folks how they feel about Carrie Cox. You will see a pattern here- some people shouldn’t be leading troups. But she is a FOF (friend of Fred) and his friends perform critical echoing functions for him which need to exist for him to do what he does.
PRSP
Nathan and Altex,
Carrie Cox has gone through pharmaceutical companies like “Sherman through Georgia.” She has a long history of misdeeds (e.g., phen/fen at AHP, off-label HGH promotion at Pharmacia) and has managed to slither her way out of each and every one. Why? Because she hides behind Fred Hassan and he has repeatedly protected her and she him. Unfortunately, at Schering-Plough we now have the worst of the worst from Pharmacia, cronies of Fred and Carrie all, who are running the company into the ground. They’re all there - Ellen Geisel, Margriet Gabriel-Regis, Sean McNicholas, C. Ron Cheeley, and Thomas Koestler. Why? because they sold their souls long ago and are willing to take a bullet fro Fred Hassan and Carrie Cox. You say you don’t know the woman, but people who have worked for her do. As for the Legal and Regulatory Compliance folks, they’re as corrupt as the rest of them, led by Tom Sabatino and previously Brent Saunders, respectively. They all cashed out like Carrie Cox. As for CafePharma and BrandWeekRx, they are not only frequented by sales people, but also insiders at Schering-Plough. Not all of it is correct, but much of it is. Employees who have been suppressed and threatened sometimes have no place to go but these sites. I agree with Ed that sometimes important insider information is leaked from these sites.
As for my opinion, there is absolutely, positively no question at all that Carrie Cox knew that the ENHANCE study was in deep deep trouble and was extremely likely to be negative as early as the Summer of 2006. She asked those that knew multiple times from June 2006 through April 2007 and was told exactly what was going on with the study. Even Carrie could figure the rest of it out. If the study didn’t have a prayer of being positive, then there was going to be a major negative impact on Schering-Plough stock. By the Spring of 2007, it was painfully obvious to all involved at SP that this study was a complete and utter failure. Carrie couldn’t stand it any more, personal greed took over, and she cashed in. When she did, people all aound her knew she was taking a giant risk, but she was too bold and self-centered to look at it logically. She banked on how difficult insider trading is to prove.
The question is not when she knew the study was definitely negative, but did she know something about ENHANCE that the public didn’t know. The answer is a resounding “Yes!†Anybody even remotely connected with Zetia, Vytorin or the Cholesterol Franchise knew exactly what was going on. As for Merck or their counterparts at MSP, I don’t know. The data was atrocious and there was no way of fixing it. The study had no prayer to deliver. Carrie sold her huge bundle of stock and made millions and millions of dollars with that knowledge. If she says she didn’t, she’s lying once more. It wouldn’t be the first time (phen/fen, HGH) and it certainly won’t be the last. She’ll have to lie when she goes to Washington.
Carrie, previously labeled one of the Top 50 Women in Business, has been done in by her own horrible greed. Then several others followed her lead and many of the top executives were bailing out. Disgraceful, disgusting, yet completely true. As for the investigation, given the heightened level of activities at Schering-Plough regarding anything related to ENHANCE, there won’t be anything left when the feds arrive. It will all be gone by the time they arrive as the files (paper and electronic) will be completely “sanitized” by then.
Then Carrie Cox will no doubt escape once more, probably no wiser and definitely more cocky!
jsekan
She and the PI of the enhance study need to go !
what about my grandma
I have worked with SP as an independent contractor in the past. Given the level of micromanaging in the corporation, I am hard pressed to believe that the executives did not know what was potentially at risk. The real shame here is that the field representatives for both Merck and SP truly did not know anything, and then they were blindsided by the news and forced to the front lines in the physicians offices. Pharma companies used to be praised for executing military level strategy. When would you ever, ever send your front line out completely naked?
This whole issue is not about the trial or the data - both of which were poorly designed and then poorly executed. This happens. When this happens, there are clear rules for how this should be handled. Have we learned nothing from Vioxx? Have we learned nothing from Seldane? Both great drugs that should probably have remained as options (for some patients, the only option), but due to massive flubs on how data was communicated, they are no longer available.
The biggest disservice that these companies have done is to their loyal employees and to the physicians who trust them. You have effectively destroyed that. But they are not the only ones to blaim.
The level of irresponsible journalism that has happened over this trial - in the serious scientific realm of cardiovascular medicine - is deplorable. God help us if the patients taking these medications suffer. Everyone is rabid for lawsuits now, and we all want money.
What is being totally lost from this whole issue is that many patients benefitted from the medication, and should continue to benefit from it, without the media and the lawyers pressuring them to question their physicians. Since when did doctors stop having the power to practice their art and science of medicine? Who does this now? The Media? When did they go to medical school? Managed Care companies? Most of them are MBAs, not MDs. This whole issue brings to light the fact that the whole system is broken. And what about my grandma? She’s had fantastic LDL-C success with Vytorin.