WYETH RESTRUCTURING PLAN TO CUT SALES FORCE

New Jersey-based drugmaker Wyeth has launched a broad restructuring program that will result in significant reductions to its main sales force, a company spokesman said.

The majority of the job cuts will occur in Wyeth's primary-care sales force, which currently consists of roughly 2,500 representatives, Wyeth spokesman Doug Petkus said. Petkus declined to estimate the number of jobs that would be eliminated, but said the number would be less than the 30 percent estimate reported by The Wall Street Journal.

"Wyeth is engaged in a pilot program to restructure its primary-care sales force," said Petkus, who noted the program would begin in earnest during the third quarter. "It's important to realize that we're transitioning from a full-time sales force to one that has a combination of full-time and flex-time representatives."

The primary reason behind the restructuring, Petkus said, is to reduce the number of visits each doctor receives from Wyeth-affiliated sales representatives. In the past, Wyeth has employed a technique known as "mirroring" in which multiple salespeople call on the same doctor. Although the strategy has helped increase drug sales, it is costly and has alienated some physicians.

"The marketplace has changed and frequent visits are not well received any more," Petkus said. "So we hope to provide greater value by making fewer doctor visits, but ones that will provide more in-depth information about our products."