What do doctors want to hear from pharma?

 

Simon Grime, managing director of

communications for Doctors.net.uk,

explores how pharma can develop a

new relationship with doctors

 Pharma is becoming increasingly reliant on digital marketing channels, according to recent research from Cegedim Strategic Data, which showed a 40% increase in digital spend in the industry worldwide in 2012. However, as pharma relies more and more heavily on the internet to gain access to doctors, what are the barriers to engaging with them in this way and how can they be overcome? 

A survey conducted for Doctors.net.uk shows that while doctors would like to access the wealth of knowledge, data and evidence that pharma companies hold, trust and transparency is still a major stumbling block. Only 3% of doctors surveyed by medeConnect think online pharma resources are credible and 42% never visit pharma websites. 

So why is this the case and how can pharma develop more trusting relationships with doctors? 

GlaxoSmithKline 'to pick Royal Bank of Scotland boss'

 

Britain’s biggest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline could dip into Royal Bank of Scotland’s reserves to name Sir Philip Hampton as its new chairman.

GSK’s current chair, former Vodafone boss Sir Christopher Gent, is expected to stand down next year after nine years in the role, and veteran chairman Sir Philip is the name in the frame to replace him. Sir Philip has been at RBS for almost five years, most recently installing incoming chief executive Ross McEwan as Stephen Hester’s successor. 

A source at RBS said Sir Philip, who has also chaired supermarket J Sainsbury, would be unlikely to leave imminently, with McEwan only starting his post in October. However, that would not rule out a potential departure announcement next spring at RBS’s AGM.

GlaxoSmithKline, which began the hunt for a successor to Sir Christopher last October, is facing a tumultuous time at the centre of allegations of a three billion yuan (£312 million) bribery scandal in China, and a new chair of its board could help chief executive Sir Andrew Witty steer the drugmaker through the crisis. 

Sir Philip was part of a business delegation that travelled with David Cameron to China in 2010. He also has extensive experience with fire-fighting, having guided RBS through scandals including the bank’s £390 million settlement for Libor rate fixing and a £1.1 billion loss from mis-selling. 

Spokesmen for GSK and RBS declined to comment.

AstraZeneca and Merck enter licence agreement for investigational oral WEE1 kinase inhibitor therapy for cancer

AstraZeneca announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Amplimmune, a privately-held, Maryland, US-based biologics company focused on developing novel therapeutics in cancer immunology. 

WEE1 helps to regulate the cell-division cycle. The WEE1 inhibitor MK-1775 is designed to cause certain tumour cells to divide without undergoing the normal DNA repair processes, ultimately leading to cell death. Preclinical evidence suggests that the combination of MK-1775 and DNA damage-inducing chemotherapy agents can enhance anti-tumor properties, in comparison to chemotherapy alone. 

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay Merck a $50 million upfront fee.

EFPIA Response to EMA Consultation on the Publication and Access to Clinical-Trial Data

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, EFPIA, finalised its comments on the European Medicines Agency’s draft policy on publication and access to clinical-trial data.

Representing the research-based pharmaceutical industry in Europe, EFPIA and its member companies welcome efforts towards greater transparency of clinical trials data. However EFPIA has serious concerns about the EMA draft policy (Policy 0070 on publication and access to clinical trial data), which carries negative implications for public health in its failure to adequately protect the interests of patients and the research they benefit from. In the interests of sharing its concerns with all relevant stakeholders as well as the general public who will be impacted by these measures.