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Post by docfrezza on Oct 8, 2015 13:49:44 GMT -5
If you go back and listen to the presentation from earlier today you will hear Matt use the words "real world". What is going on in the real world is very important. Patients are loving Afrezza. Practitioners that are using Afrezza are loving it. It is still my opinion that the biggest issue is that the marketing by Sanofi has been weak. In my opinion patients will push the initial sales by requesting Afrezza from their practitioners but as of this time many do not even know that it exists. Later, practitioners will use Afrezza because of the results they see in their practices, much like I have seen in my practice. That is the real world.
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Post by doubleo7 on Oct 8, 2015 14:55:28 GMT -5
Exactly! Can you share how many rx you have written so far and how many u ll write in the next 12 months?
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Post by centralcoastinvestor on Oct 8, 2015 14:55:42 GMT -5
If you go back and listen to the presentation from earlier today you will hear Matt use the words "real world". What is going on in the real world is very important. Patients are loving Afrezza. Practitioners that are using Afrezza are loving it. It is still my opinion that the biggest issue is that the marketing by Sanofi has been weak. In my opinion patients will push the initial sales by requesting Afrezza from their practitioners but as of this time many do not even know that it exists. Later, practitioners will use Afrezza because of the results they see in their practices, much like I have seen in my practice. That is the real world. Thanks for posting! Quick couple of questions for you. What is the best result you have seen with Afrezza at your practice? Also, on average how long has it taken the average patient to go from asking about Afrezza to paying for their first prescription? Thanks. |
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Post by jurystillout on Oct 8, 2015 14:58:56 GMT -5
If afrezza is going to survive it's going to be done solely on it's own merits, meaning it's going to take social media, very enthusiastic user's, patients will have to be willing to pay to use it and physicians will have to be willing to take the time to do their DD to find out it's the best option for their patients. I'm not sure if it can happen but counting on SNY and MNKD to drive the bus is obviously not happening. If your a DR, or patient SPREAD THE WORD!!
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Post by compound26 on Oct 8, 2015 15:09:47 GMT -5
If you go back and listen to the presentation from earlier today you will hear Matt use the words "real world". What is going on in the real world is very important. Patients are loving Afrezza. Practitioners that are using Afrezza are loving it. It is still my opinion that the biggest issue is that the marketing by Sanofi has been weak. In my opinion patients will push the initial sales by requesting Afrezza from their practitioners but as of this time many do not even know that it exists. Later, practitioners will use Afrezza because of the results they see in their practices, much like I have seen in my practice. That is the real world. Well said. It would be great that you can share with us some of the real world observations you have from time to time.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 15:28:25 GMT -5
If you go back and listen to the presentation from earlier today you will hear Matt use the words "real world". What is going on in the real world is very important. Patients are loving Afrezza. Practitioners that are using Afrezza are loving it. It is still my opinion that the biggest issue is that the marketing by Sanofi has been weak. In my opinion patients will push the initial sales by requesting Afrezza from their practitioners but as of this time many do not even know that it exists. Later, practitioners will use Afrezza because of the results they see in their practices, much like I have seen in my practice. That is the real world. Doc, have you told any of your fellow physicians about Afrezza and what it is doing for your patients? If so, were they receptive and if not, what did they push back on? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 19:20:16 GMT -5
If you go back and listen to the presentation from earlier today you will hear Matt use the words "real world". What is going on in the real world is very important. Patients are loving Afrezza. Practitioners that are using Afrezza are loving it. It is still my opinion that the biggest issue is that the marketing by Sanofi has been weak. In my opinion patients will push the initial sales by requesting Afrezza from their practitioners but as of this time many do not even know that it exists. Later, practitioners will use Afrezza because of the results they see in their practices, much like I have seen in my practice. That is the real world. Doc, have you told any of your fellow physicians about Afrezza and what it is doing for your patients? If so, were they receptive and if not, what did they push back on? Doc, wanted to ad to the questions so hopefully you won't be put off. Not sure if you can respond but is the Afrezza rep calling on you solely selling Afrezza and how often do you see the rep. |
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Post by docfrezza on Oct 8, 2015 19:48:13 GMT -5
First of all, to whoever changed the word world in the subject of this post, thank you (I incorrectly put in "worl"). I will try and answer questions as best as I can without revealing who I am. Many of you know me from YMB. I am a primary care practitioner, not an endocrinologist. At this point in time I do not want to reveal my identity. Thus far I have prescribed Afrezza more that 10 times, less than 20 times. I have no idea as to how many scripts I will write in the next year. The best A1c I have seen thus far, and there have been 2 of these, was a drop from over 12 to below 7. The amazing thing is that none of my patients have had hypoglycemia. None. That reflects the PK profile many of you are aware of. It is one thing to see a slide in a presentation or an article describing the PK profile. It is something else to see it in practice, in the real world. I talk to any practitioners that I can about Afrezza. I know of 2 that began prescribing Afrezza as a result of our conversation. The biggest pushback is either the PFT issue or their stubbornness in learning something new. Patients are typically given the 10 day sample and a script. They have all started on the prescription as the sample ran out. I have now had one patient stop Afrezza. Not because of a side effect but because of extended work travel and the bulk of Afrezza he would have to pack as a result of this travel. I want to thank those of you who research and post about Mannkind and Afrezza. This is a paradigm changing product which I certainly hope to prescribe for years to come. I will continue to answer questions but as stated previously do not want to reveal my identity and will certainly give no patient specific information.
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Post by docfrezza on Oct 8, 2015 19:51:02 GMT -5
Forgot to respond to this in the post I just sent. I have 2 Afrezza reps calling on me. One has Afrezza as a sole product, the other has Toujeo and Afrezza. As best I can tell there are approximately 200 pure Afrezza reps in the USA. I do not know how many Toujeo/Afrezza reps there are.
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Post by od on Oct 8, 2015 20:00:48 GMT -5
I hope docfrezza's note of being visited by two representatives will help put to rest the notion that SNY is not stepping up to the plate. Two reps visiting a Primary Care Physician - nice.
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Post by sweedee79 on Oct 8, 2015 20:03:13 GMT -5
Hello Doc, Thank you for your information. My dad is on Afrezza and his A1C has dropped from 7.6 to 6.6 after 6 weeks of use. The docs who prescribe are very conservative and fearful of hypo and don't seem to be very knowledgeable about the product. I think his doses need to be increased but they wont hear of it and are only targeting and A1C between 7 and 8 and if he gets a slightly better A1C they are happy but are fearful of tighter control. Have you increased the doses of insulin with your patients when they started on Afrezza? In your experience are patients able to handle higher doses of Afrezza without hypo and as a result get a better A1C? I believe that some T1 diabetics can take larger doses of Afrezza without so much fear of hypo and have tighter control. I would like to see this for my dad however they will only give him the same dose he had when taking Novolog. He feels much better, his blood pressure has improved and he has lost weight. But I believe this could be even better if the docs better understood the drug.
Thank you, Sweedee79 |
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Post by docfrezza on Oct 8, 2015 20:09:29 GMT -5
Please understand that in the world of primary care that I am considered a larger target than many because of the focus of my practice (cardiovascular risk management) whereas someone with another focus (pain management for example) would be a smaller target than average. The pure Afrezza rep does not call on nearly as many primary care practitioners as the Toujeo/Afrezza rep, but also remember that the Toujeo/Afrezza rep (all of the Toujeo/Afrezza reps nationwide, as best I can tell) have Toujeo as their lead product. Not saying this is right or wrong, but it is what is happening out there in the real world.
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Post by docfrezza on Oct 8, 2015 20:13:31 GMT -5
Most primary care practitioners target A1c<7.0. Endos use <7 or <6.5. For many elderly patients (above 70-75 years of age) even above 7 may be accepted so as to avoid the risk of hypoglycemia. Medicine is an art, there are many ways to do it. Always keep that in mind.
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Post by lynn on Oct 8, 2015 20:21:21 GMT -5
Docfrezza, Welcome to proboards ! I've tried to follow your posts on YMB but it's such a pain to filter thru the trash there that it's hard to find the treasures . I hope you stick around here I do recall you being bombarded by folks there asking you to prove yourself by disclosing more about you . I think I speak for many when I say that you don't have to worry about that here . I am a RN & there are many Docs on this board as well . We are well aware of HIPPA & respect the privacy of both yourself as well as your patients . Thank You for sharing your behind the scenes experiences. It is much appreciated ! Lynn |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 20:25:54 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing Doc. Have a good evening.
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