Healthy Skepticism Library item: 12823

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Goldstein J.
Cephalon Marketing Settlement Weighs on Provigil
The Wall Street Journal 2008 Feb 14
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/02/14/cephalon-marketing-settlement-weighs-on-provigil/

Full text:

Cephalon’s deals with generics companies that the FTC claims have delayed cheap alternatives for the drug Provigil are likely to remain in force for a while, analysts say. But a separate government action last year already appears to be weighing on Cephalon’s sales of the anti-drowsiness pill.

Last November, the drugmaker settled state and federal investigations into its marketing practices, which allegedly included promoting drugs for unapproved uses. Cephalon agreed to pay $425 million and abide by a corporate integrity agreement that spells out dos and don’ts for company behavior. What happened next? After climbing for years, new prescriptions for Provigil fell 8% in December compared with same month the year before. And new prescriptions were down again in January, according to IMS Health data cited by Lazard Capital Markets.

“[W]hat is the demand today for Provigil absent all the bonuses and guidance and doctor events and speaker lunches, etc.?” Lazard’s Megan Murphy wrote in a note today. It’s possible that the decline in new prescriptions will persist, hurting sales of the drug, Murphy suggested in a conversation with the Health Blog. “You have a nine-year-old product, which in the pharmaceutical business is ancient history,” she said.

Yes, the settlement may have briefly affected the company’s sales efforts for the drug, Cephalon spokeswoman Sheryl Williams told us. “Was there some disruption?” she said. “Of course there’s disruption when you have those kinds of things going on.”

But she said the company still met its earnings guidance last year, and thinks there’s more growth for Provigil for people with obstructive sleep apnea. To that end, she noted, the company just launched its first direct-to-consumer ad campaign for the drug, with ads showing up in newspapers and magazines around the country.