An in-depth story, behind the scenes at Pfizer

“Every weekday, some 38,000 Pfizer Inc. sales reps fan out around the globe. Armed with briefcases full of free drug samples, reams of clinical data, and lavish expense accounts for wining and dining their quarry, the reps infiltrate doctors’ offices and hospitals. Their goal: to persuade medical professionals the world over to make Pfizer drugs the treatment of choice for their patients’ aches and pains . . .

Each of Pfizer’s sales reps costs close to $170,000 per year including car, computer, and benefits . . . That figure doesn’t change a lot if the company’s sales are soaring or falling. So a big-selling drug can generate fantastic margins as sales ramp up. Pfizer generated an astonishing $45 billion in gross profits last year. That works out to $1.2 million per sales rep.”