(Adds details of memo)
By Caroline Humer
NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX)
International Inc VRX.TO will cut its sales force for Addyi, a
treatment aimed at female sexual dysfunction, as well as some
employees who sell dermatology products, according to an
internal memo seen by Reuters.
The memo said that the company's contract with an outside
sales force ends on April 15 and will not be renewed. Addyi,
which Valeant acquired as part of its $1 billion acquisition of
Sprout Pharmaceuticals has had slow sales since it
was launched last fall.
The memo from Chief Executive Officer Michael Pearson (LON:PSON) to
company employees said that Valeant plans to relaunch the
product "later this year" with a new marketing and sales plan
and an internal sales force. Addyi will remain on the market in
the interim.
Pearson also wrote in the memo that in dermatology, Valeant
received feedback from doctors that "it had too many people
calling on them to discuss closely related products." It planned
cuts in that internal sales force as a result.
Those cuts affect about 140 current Valeant employees and
would leave about 250 sales representatives for the dermatology
business, according to a source familiar with the situation. The
Addyi cuts affect about 140 contractors, said the source, who
was not authorized to speak about the move.
Valeant dermatology sales have suffered since the company
cut ties with Philidor Rx Services, a mail-order pharmacy. It
missed its fourth-quarter earnings targets, has said it will
restate financials for 2014 and 2015 and delayed filing its
annual report, putting it in danger of defaulting on $30 billion
in debt.
Bloomberg first reported the cuts earlier on Monday.
(Editing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis)