I used to work for a Merck division and one of my customers spilled the
beans to me (a rep at the time) that they had just completed a study on using Ivermectin to treat scabies. It turns out 1 dose would cure it and it was pretty remarkable how consistently effective it was. The alternative was often shaving the area (often the head) and treating with cream daily over weeks. However, it was never launched because the market size was too small to justify mobilizing the organization around its promotion. Our division was smaller and they considered it, but the financials really didn't work. If you can't generate over $100M in revenue, it can be very difficult to get in the black with pharma -- unless you are going a totally generic, sales-force-free route. And good luck changing clinical practice with that model.
I'm not a huge pharma fan, but the risks and expenses involved with getting drugs to market are sizable. You have to give these companies some respect when they succeed -- or when they decide not to launch something.
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In response to this post by vthokieq)
Posted: 09/15/2021 at 09:35AM