This may give new meaning to the notion of playing ball. Hoping to entice doctors to prescribe more meds, Novartis assembled a star-studded line up of athletes to pitch its drugs at dinners between 2006 and 2009. Among them: baseball Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Johnny Bench, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and former New York Knicks forward Walt 'Clyde' Frazier.
As you might imagine, the athletes gave short speeches, answered questions about their careers, signed memorabilia and posed for photos. Novartis reps later brought the photos when they called on the docs. In all, the drugmaker paid $3.6 million in fees to 150 top former and current sports figures - from $8,000 to $35,000 an appearance, according to The Washington Times.
Interestingly, the events were used to promote three of six drugs that were at the center of a kickback scheme. You may recall that recently Novartis agreed to pay $422.5 million to settle civil and criminal charges for illegally promoting the meds, including Trileptal, Diovan, Zelnorm, Sandostatin, Exforge and Tekturna (back story).
"I hope someone at the company got a fat bonus, because this is one of the most clever schemes I've seen to provide gifts to doctors," Paul Thacker, an investigator for Project on Government Oversight watchdog group, who probed financial relationships between docs and drugmakers while working for the Senate Finance Committee. "If you shove a bag of cash in a doctor's pocket, he might feel like a common streetwalker, but if you give him a picture of his childhood idol, then he might feel like everyone is just being pals."
To organize the events, Novartis hired The Nelson Group. "Over the years, it got harder and harder to get physicians to come to the informational dinners," Rooney Nelson tells the paper. During that three-year period, his firm organized more than 250 events. His job was to book the athletes, physician speakers and restaurants, and pay the expenses.
More recenty, he filed a lawsuit against Novartis, seeking $538,000 in unpaid bills. The drugmaker denies owing him anything and instead claims Nelson owes "thousands if not millions of dollars" for unsubstantiated expenses. Novartis also claims he was reimbursed for honoraria to several docs and athletes that were never paid.
15 Comments
“If you shove a bag of cash in a doctor’s pocket, he might feel like a common streetwalker..."
Yep.
Ed, let's give some fair balance here. Many athletes generously give their time and money to support notable medical causes. Since you chose to put up a picture of Eli Manning, it should be noted that Eli and his family have raised over $750,000 for the Eli Manning Children's Clinics as of July, 2010.
Hi Insider,
Thanks for the note and point well taken. Although I did not intend to suggest the athletes did anything untoward. They agreed to speak and were paid for their time.
The issue has to do with the approach that was taken by Novartis to entice doctors to attend the events. By employing big-name athletes, the company seemed more likely to get the desired turnout and have a chance to exert the hoped-for influence.
I only chose the Manning photo because I assume he's better known than some of the other athletes mentioned, some of whom hark back to earlier generations.
But I appreciate the point, in any event.
Cheers ed
I don't blame the athletes, I blame the company that hired them.
There is an old saying I am fond of, "Where there is smoke - there usually is fire!"
422 Million = 6 drugs(mainly Trileptal)
How many drugs does this company promote?
I really wonder what a VERY extensive investigation into the ENTIRE U.S. Division Sales & Marketing Machine called NVS would uncover?
Might make a good book?
Thanks, Ed. Point well taken. Couple of years ago I purchased a poster of Eli Manning right after the Giants won Super Bowl 42. It's quite nice, done in shades of blue with the Super Bowl trophy silhouetted in the background. I gave it to my dad to hang in his medical office. I hope that some of the proceeds went to Eli's foundation, which he and his wife Abby have established for care of pediatric patients.
Funny last I heard Novartis was a profit organization not a non-profit. I also thought we lived in the USA a society founded on capitalism. Principles that have made our country flourish over the years. If Novartis wants to use athletes to help them promote their brands what is wrong with that? Athletes and celebrities are used to endorse millions of products?
Also no one put a gun to the doctors head to show up and no one is forcing them to prescribe Novartis's drugs. I would imagine doctors are smart enough to make their own assessment of what drug they should prescribe their patients.
Entrepeneur,
Normally, I would agree with you.
However, having been the rep in situations similiar to/or exacting like this, I can tell you there is only one motive for these events and others like them: Write more of my drug! Find a way, look for patients, look for off-label patients, hell Rx it for anyone and everyone - just Rx more.
My commission, my status and ranking at the company, my bonus, everything was based on market share and/or market share growth.
Why would we do these things? Because it works!
Rx's from doctors that attended these events went through the roof. Everything was tracked.
Why do you think it went on for sooo long.
And really the heart of the problem is that when you have doctors Rxing more brand name drugs when generics are fine, just so his rep who just got him a photo and a meet and greet with their childhood hero can make his bonus and look good at his/her company, that effects all of us.
When that doctor starts pushing the envelope with off-label uses of the drug more patients are put in harm's way a bad A.E.s and more cost to you and I.
In some cases, when it is discovered later on that a drug was very dangerous and potentially lethal, how many MORE patients were exposed unnecessarily.
The added cost burden to the U.S. Health Care System and potential health risks to it's patients make this practice and others like it, despicable.
It's funny, when your a rep doing these things, you justify it any way you can. Now that I am out, I feel sick.
...maybe I should see a doctor?
+1 on Entrepreneur's post. Of course Novartis, or any other company that manufactures a product is going to do things to try and influence whether people use their product. That's what drives the entire capitalist system. Do we trash the auto manufacturers for spending so much on TV ads to "entice" us to buy their cars?
How did the responsibility for what drugs get prescribed get shifted from the doctor with the pen in his/her hand to the maker of the drug? This whole debate is based on the premise that doctors are either stupid or corrupt. I reject that premise.
Here's the gun to the physician's head. Beginning January 1, 2011, Medicare reimbursement to doctors drops by 23%. How many of us, faced with a drop in nearly one-quarter of our incomes wouldn't try to make it up somewhere else?
I hope Eli never experiences knowledge of a Novartis product killing or maiming people. With Sally Field and Boniva, I like to think she made the commercials before the reports of damages rolled in, and can't do anything about the rights to those ads now. Otherwise it is difficult to watch her performances without thinking she was very correctly typecast(ed?) as naive and full of good intent. You have to wonder if she has any regrets or if she is still shilling. Either way - it does a star no favors to alienate part of his/her fan base. Their managers should know better.
JaT, this is a paid actress, Sally Field, not the Flying Nun that some of us remember her as. Good old Sally will continue to make Boniva commercials until the ink is dry on the last product liability lawsuit over bisphosphonates and osteonecrosis of the jaw.
They should start looking into how the old Schering-Plough used to promote their products!
@Capitalist, i totally agree with you. I see nothing wrong in what Novartis did. Employing ways to improve physician attendance is an absolutely harmless exercise. And so are most physician promotions that pharma companies employ.
Well, well - can't pay all those "consultant honorariums" any longer, this is a good substitute. Now, isn't the real question: Was this pay for play? I'm sure the providers that attended only went to learn.
bet there were some hot reps there...hot chics who wouldn't give me any attention when I was a director of operations and they were in the field making bonus...guess who is laughing now...HAHAHAHAHHA