The medical-scientific informant is awaiting a $12,000 bonus. Unfortunately, though, his chance to land a better job position at another drug company would materialize a month before the bonus is posted. How to get both the bonus and the new job? Questions of this type and related answers characterize the cafepharma.com website. A site where for six years now representatives of drugs and medical devices have been intertwining discussions relating to their lives, professional in particular. An article in the New York Times tells how it is organized.
Cafepharma covers a lot of news about the health care industry, but the juiciest part is where thousands of whistleblowers vent their frustrations and fears. Thus, hidden in rant and sarcasm, lies useful information based on an inevitably profound knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry. And it is no coincidence that investors, plaintiff lawyers, journalists and headhunters are reading, but they are unlikely to leave a post. As Lloyd Mandel, who is the founder of cafepharma, points out, “there are a lot of disgruntled people posting on the site, and when you post you get replies from qualified reps”. However, only pharmaceutical industry insiders can determine which publications are accurate. The numbers are symptomatic of the dimension of the issue. There are over 1.5 million posts on cafepharma answering nearly 150,000 questions. And this since the activity began in December 2001. The board of the forum is divided into medical specialties, geographical areas and pharmaceutical companies. Discussions can focus on generic topics, such as sales advice, or more specific, such as the difficult life with an "unbearable" boss. Then there is the board called "lost civilizations" which talks about companies that disappeared following mergers and acquisitions. There is also no shortage of discussions on management defects or peculiarities of sales managers and we get to heart affairs with colleagues or customers, even if in this case the contents are filtered more than ever. It's no surprise that cafepharma fans are quite rare in companies. The only interest that companies have, explains a Pfizer representative to the New York Times, is to monitor that their integrity is not harmed. And on the same wavelength there is also a medical device company like Medtronic which claims not to approve of sites of this type. Furthermore, Sarah Palmer, the site's webmaster, points out that many posts are removed every day for violations of various kinds: from personal attacks to racist language, from advertising violations to spamming. Furthermore, the site does not know who the 18,000 registered visitors who leave comments are, or where they are. The cafepharma owners, meanwhile, want to keep a low profile. In fact, these are former sales operators in pharmaceutical companies who fear retaliation. Lawsuits are around the corner.
Cafepharma covers a lot of news about the health care industry, but the juiciest part is where thousands of whistleblowers vent their frustrations and fears. Thus, hidden in rant and sarcasm, lies useful information based on an inevitably profound knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry. And it is no coincidence that investors, plaintiff lawyers, journalists and headhunters are reading, but they are unlikely to leave a post. As Lloyd Mandel, who is the founder of cafepharma, points out, “there are a lot of disgruntled people posting on the site, and when you post you get replies from qualified reps”. However, only pharmaceutical industry insiders can determine which publications are accurate. The numbers are symptomatic of the dimension of the issue. There are over 1.5 million posts on cafepharma answering nearly 150,000 questions. And this since the activity began in December 2001. The board of the forum is divided into medical specialties, geographical areas and pharmaceutical companies. Discussions can focus on generic topics, such as sales advice, or more specific, such as the difficult life with an "unbearable" boss. Then there is the board called "lost civilizations" which talks about companies that disappeared following mergers and acquisitions. There is also no shortage of discussions on management defects or peculiarities of sales managers and we get to heart affairs with colleagues or customers, even if in this case the contents are filtered more than ever. It's no surprise that cafepharma fans are quite rare in companies. The only interest that companies have, explains a Pfizer representative to the New York Times, is to monitor that their integrity is not harmed. And on the same wavelength there is also a medical device company like Medtronic which claims not to approve of sites of this type. Furthermore, Sarah Palmer, the site's webmaster, points out that many posts are removed every day for violations of various kinds: from personal attacks to racist language, from advertising violations to spamming. Furthermore, the site does not know who the 18,000 registered visitors who leave comments are, or where they are. The cafepharma owners, meanwhile, want to keep a low profile. In fact, these are former sales operators in pharmaceutical companies who fear retaliation. Lawsuits are around the corner.
