A good read from Yahoo msg. board
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Pfizer employees have seen this, however I thought some of you might be interested also-
VIAGRA TRADE LAUNCH SHATTERS ALL RECORDS
On April 6, weeks before Pfizer's US field forces got the green light to start detailing Viagra, the Company launched its newest product to the "trade"- the massive network of wholesalers and retail pharmacies across the United States. With $70M of product shipped on the first day alone, the Viagra trade launch shattered the Pfizer record, held previously by another recently launched product, Trovan. When the accounting is complete, Viagra will likely rank as the largest trade launch in the history of the pharmaceutical industry.
The groundwork for the launch was laid last fall, when the Viagra Disease Management Team, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Group Manufacturing Division, and the US Pharmaceuticals Trade Group formed a Trade Launch Team committed to cutting the traditional launch time in half.
Their work was put to the test when the team initiated a series of rapid-fire operations just moments after Viagra received FDA approval on Friday, March 27. For example, Manufacturing finalized the package insert over the weekend and began preparing Viagra inventory in unprecedented quantities for the trade launch scheduled to begin 10 calendar days later. A unique Rapid Distribution Test was also started, which put thousands of bottles of Viagra in warehouses, and brought Viagra to over 8,500 pharmacies owned by WalMart, Walgreens, Eckerd Drugs, and American Drug Stores-four of the nation's largest chains-just 11 days after FDA approval. Pfizer distribution centers began processing both wholesale stocking and Rapid Distribution Test orders while the Trade Group accelerated the creation of trade launch materials, such as product information sheets. Manufacturing revved up the production effort, committing both the Puerto Rico and Brooklyn plants to generate Viagra. It was the first time both plants participated in making product in support of a US launch.
"The trade launch of Viagra truly set a new benchmark for the rapids market deployment," says Mike Tarnok, vp-Finance, PPG. "By Tuesday, April 7, chains that participated in the Rapid Distribution Test were filling prescriptions, and by the end of the week patients were already requesting-and-receiving refills."
Within five weeks of FDA approval, more than 90 percent of the nation's pharmacies had Viagra on their shelves, a stocking level that some products do not match after six months.
"The Viagra trade launch exhibited truly shining examples of the Pfizer Values of Teamwork, Innovation, and Customer Focus," Tarnok says.
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