J&J Pharma Research Day
Investors who enjoy spending an entire day listening to one company’s propaganda will want to check out the archived webcast of J&J’s pharma R&D day, their first such presentation in four years (Investor Relations - Webcasts/Presentations). Full disclosure: I was previously employed by J&J.
Leading the presentations were no less than five senior managers who hold the title of “Chairman” or “Vice Chairman” and four who hold the “President” title. Frankly, if you remember nothing more about J&J’s Pharma R&D day than this simple fact, you will have learned something about J&J Pharma’s history (a stitched together collection of companies), its culture (top-heavy, bureaucratic), and its approach to R&D–from their tolerance for risk (low), to their ability to make key decisions quickly (not so good).
The highlight of the meeting? Details surrounding the planned launch of dapoxetine, the first drug targeted at treating the debilitating disease of premature ejaculation. J&J hopes to get an indication to treat premature ejaculation with this short-acting SSRI based on studies of men with the severe form of the “disease”–those who failed to last more than two minutes after penetration in at least 75% of their encounters in the prior two weeks. Apparently, some guys find a reason to complain when they’re getting laid enough in two weeks to be able to record a percentage of times they came in less than two minutes.
No doubt this drug will get lots of airtime and attention in magazine columns in the coming (no pun intended) months. What’s the next big indication for J&J’s newest drug? Well, no confirmations yet, but rumor has it they’re considering the following “premature-activity/compulsion disorders:” Inability to eat just one potato chip; Skipping to the end of a novel before full character development; Taking a swing on the first pitch; Biting into the center of a Tootsie Pop with the candy coating intact; Reading magazines from back to front; Sipping red wine before it’s had a chance to breathe; and Experiencing love at first sight.
