Paging Dr. Freeze or others with Drug Knowledge

[saint]

Can you list me some competitors that are prescribed routinely for any of the following meds? My wife has an interview w/ novartis and it would be good to know. It's not the easiest thing to look up.

Diovan? / Co-Diovan?
(valsartan)
Used in the treatment of hypertension


GleevecTM/Glivec?
(imatinib mesylate)
Used in the treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) and Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST)

Lamisil? (group)
(terbinafine HCI)
Antifungal agent

Zometa?
(zoledronic acid)
Used in the treatment of bone metastasis in a variety of tumor types

Neoral / Sandimmun?
(ciclosporin)
Immunosuppressive agent for transplantations

Lotrel?
(amlodipine and benazepril hydrochloride)
Used in the treatment of hypertension

Sandostatin? / LAR?-
Used to reduce blood levels of growth hormone and IGF-I in acromegaly patients

Lescol?-Used in the treatment of atherosclerosis vascular disease

Voltaren-Nonsteroidalanti-inflammatory, antirheumatic agent

Trileptal-seizures

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[SixFive]

Can you list me some competitors that are prescribed routinely for any of the following meds? My wife has an interview w/ novartis and it would be good to know. It's not the easiest thing to look up.

Diovan? / Co-Diovan?
(valsartan)
Used in the treatment of hypertension

Atacand, Avapro, and the one I see substituted for it most often (cheapest) Cozaar (Losartan)

GleevecTM/Glivec?
(imatinib mesylate)
Used in the treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) and Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST) doubt there's anything else.

Lamisil? (group)
(terbinafine HCI)
Antifungal agent

Lamisil is used mostly for treatment of nail fungus. Other drugs I have seen for treating this are Sporonox (Itraconazole) and Fulvicin (Griseofulvin). Those 2 will be much cheaper than Lamisil which is extremely expensive. Diflucan is an extremely commonly used anti-fungal, but I've never seen it used to treat nail fungus.

Zometa?
(zoledronic acid)
Used in the treatment of bone metastasis in a variety of tumor types no idea

Neoral / Sandimmun?
(ciclosporin)
Immunosuppressive agent for transplantations

I think theres a similar drug that might also be another brand name of cyclosporin called Gengraf, and i just looked up one used called Sangcya

Lotrel?
(amlodipine and benazepril hydrochloride)
Used in the treatment of hypertension this is a combination ace/ca channel blocker drug. Tarka and Lexxel also fall in this class. I also see Hyzaar substituted for it even though it's a little different of a combo.

Sandostatin? / LAR?-
Used to reduce blood levels of growth hormone and IGF-I in acromegaly patients Absolutely no idea

Lescol?-Used in the treatment of atherosclerosis vascular disease probably will have more competition with this one than any other. Mevacor, Crestor, Pravachol, Vytorin, and the big 2, Lipitor and Zocor. We substitute Mevacor as it's the cheapest to get here.

Voltaren-Nonsteroidalanti-inflammatory, antirheumatic agent lots of drugs here too. First of all, Voltaren has a widely used generic called Diclofenac. I think Voltaren would be near impossible to sell when the generic is so dispersed and with so many inexpensive, generic, otc competitors. Other drugs in this class are motrin/ibuprofen, indocin/indomethacin, lodine/etodolac, naprosyn/naproxen sodium, orudis/ketoprofen, toradol/ketorolac, and of course Celebrex and Mobic fit in here (and Vioxx used too) If people buy a brand name in this category, it's going to be Celebrex or Mobic.



Thanks in advance for any help.

good luck to her.

 

[saint]

good luck to her.

Thanks 65, much appreciated. My wife says thanks as well.

I know zocor's patent is up now and generics will be on the market. Should be interesting since lipitor is such a big seller. I've read that they expect their marketshare to decrease as much as 3%. Although lipitor is a better drug, i've read zocor may be a good 1st line med.

 

[dogface]

Vytorin out performs Lipitor in every head to head study. Some people unable to tolerate Lipitor at higher strengths, Zocor then becomes an option very few others used.

There are also other Lipid lower meds that are used for people that cannot have/tolerate another drug get metabolised via the P450 enzyme. I believe it is Lescol.


Your wife has an interview with Novartis, but they didn't let her know what position she would be applying for?

You have listed quite a cross section of drugs that not one rep would have in their bag at the same time... so curious as to them letting her know. It's nice to know the competition, but better to know Novartis products as she would sell on the strengths of her drugs and not the negatives of others. Not to mention most docs I know hate bashing of drugs, they are creatures of habit for the most part and prescribe based on their experiences, and safety profiles.

If this is a Primary Care position, be wary that things are changing quickly in that level, and it is not the position it once was. Kinda fashioned as a glorified sample dropper. Or well-dressed UPS person.

But I wish her the best!!


TSI

 

[saint]

Vytorin out performs Lipitor in every head to head study. Some people unable to tolerate Lipitor at higher strengths, Zocor then becomes an option very few others used.

There are also other Lipid lower meds that are used for people that cannot have/tolerate another drug get metabolised via the P450 enzyme. I believe it is Lescol.


Your wife has an interview with Novartis, but they didn't let her know what position she would be applying for?

You have listed quite a cross section of drugs that not one rep would have in their bag at the same time... so curious as to them letting her know. It's nice to know the competition, but better to know Novartis products as she would sell on the strengths of her drugs and not the negatives of others. Not to mention most docs I know hate bashing of drugs, they are creatures of habit for the most part and prescribe based on their experiences, and safety profiles.

If this is a Primary Care position, be wary that things are changing quickly in that level, and it is not the position it once was. Kinda fashioned as a glorified sample dropper. Or well-dressed UPS person.

But I wish her the best!!


TSI

Thanks for the feedback. Actually, my sister works for novartis so we are pretty well informed about the status of the business and the changes that have taken place. She actually wants out We're here for 2 years in cinci and that's all we're looking for at the moment...a job with a decent income in sales. The territories have not been defined yet, they just know they have a few in cinci. So the drugs she would be selling as a rep are TBD. Those listed are from their site as their top sellers so figured it would be good to rattle them off if asked. She got past the first round and now has it w/ 2 DMs...hopefully it comes thru cause living on my crap hospital salary isn't working.