Merck to contract out some sales jobs -- after cuts

Merck to contract out some sales jobs -- after cuts
Monday September 22, 5:22 pm ET
Merck retains inVentiv Health to handle some drug sales work -- after cutting its sales force
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Merck & Co. is about to contract out some of its sales work to deal with short-term vacancies in the U.S. sales force, just months after it eliminated about 15 percent of that staff.
The drugmaker has retained inVentiv Health "to give us flexible alternatives that have successfully been used by other major pharmaceutical companies," Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose said Monday.
"We are taking this approach as we prepare for a reconfiguration of our field sales force," set for early 2009, she said.
Merck eliminated about 1,200 salespeople early this summer as revenue was hurt by questions about the effectiveness and price of Vytorin and Zetia, cholesterol drugs it jointly sells with partner Schering-Plough. In addition, an experimental cholesterol treatment they were hoping to launch was rejected by the Food and Drug Administration.
InVentiv provides sales, communications, market analysis, clinical trial management and other support to all top 20 global pharmaceutical manufacturers and dozens of other drugmakers and biotech companies.
Merck chose to contract with the company to handle sales needs in particular territories or for particular products rather than recruiting, hiring and retaining new full-time employees, Rose said.
InVentiv is based in Somerset, N.J., not far from Merck's headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J.