The New Rules of Pharma Marketing

Basing marketing strategies on relationships with doctors won’t suffice anymore. Sea changes in the pharmaceutical industry are prompting a total rewrite of the marketing playbook.

One doesn’t need a thermometer to take the temperature of contemporary rhetoric against the pharmaceutical industry. The white-hot title of author and physician Ben Goldacre’s 2012 book Bad Pharma: How Medicine Is Broken, and How We Can Fix It says it all. Bristling with outrageous examples of slanted or suppressed research and corrupt marketing and sales tactics, Goldacre’s book paints a picture of a hopelessly wayward medical industry awash in dirty money.

“He shines a light on the more negative aspects of the industry, which do exist,” says Marcel Corstjens, The Unilever Chaired Professor of Marketing at INSEAD. “Some marketing and sales practices are unethical; some research is misused.” But the animus expressed toward Big Pharma these days is at an unfair level, Corstjens suggests. “No industry is snow-white. There are issues in the food industry, around obesity, in the tobacco industry, and in the financial services industry with the global economic crisis…The world would have been a worse place without big pharma.”

Pharma Sales Will Reach $1 Trillion in 2014

The Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters released its annual synopsis of pharmaceutical industry trends in its 2014 Pharmaceutical R&D Factbook, compiled by CMR International, a Thomson Reuters business. The report found a number of positive trends across the biopharmaceutical landscape—including an all-time high in pharmaceutical sales and an increase in new molecular entities (NMEs) and in drugs successfully completing late-stage clinical trials—that contradict industry perceptions of a decline in R&D productivity. The CMR Factbook includes data on R&D pipeline volume, success rates, cycle times, regional comparisons, therapeutic areas, generic drugs, and other areas. 

Reuters' researchers reported that global pharmaceutical sales reached an all-time high of approximately $980 billion in 2013 and are expected to rise to $1 trillion this year. The rate of growth declined in 2013 compared to previous years, however, due to the expiration of patent protection on a number of blockbuster drugs in markets dominated by lower-cost generic equivalents. 

Novartis named first digital pharma company of the year

 

Novartis beat off Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech (Roche), GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi to take the first ever Digital Pharmaceutical Company of the Year Award at the PM Society Digital Media Awards last night, based on the breadth and depth of their social media engagement, as measured by Symplur.

The sixth annual event also featured a fresh new format, including educational content from LinkedIn, iPad stations showcasing finalists' work and a Tweet Wall.

Agencies McCann Manchester and Red Door Communications won most recognition on the night, each scooping two Gold awards and McCann Manchester also took home a Bronze. Emotive achieved a Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze, Langland walked away with a Gold and a Silver and RFA Advertising and Marketing a Gold and a Bronze. M3 with MSA Media and Rainmaker, nitrogen, go digital health (part of Virgo Health), Cherry, Real Science and Inspired Science each took home a Gold. Year on year, the results represent a much wider spread of successful agencies.

Client-side, Shire Pharmaceuticals and the World Hepatitis Alliance led, with two Golds each. Others taking home one win each were Rosemount Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Roche, SPMSD, Actavis+Warner Chilcott, Novo Nordisk, Takeda, Galderma and Bayer Healthcare.

Best digital project or account manager went to Rebeka Morley from Health iQ and this year, the prestigious Digital Pioneer Award was given to Adam Boucher from Novo Nordisk.

Digital Awards lead and co-chair of the PM Society, Rachel Farrow, said, "The two-stage judging process for the Digital Awards is possibly unparalleled in its rigour and it is rewarding this year to be recognising excellence from a far broader spread of winning agencies. Several campaigns were truly innovative and exciting and demonstrate real progress in digital for pharma.

"Importantly, we also saw more clients accompanying agencies to the second round judging this year and those presenting were noticeably better prepared for the questions and time constraints on the day."

Judging takes place in a two-stage process with online submissions shortlisted to finalists who then present in person to judges for 10 minutes and answer questions for five. A total of 45 judges attended second-round judging and reviewed 73 finalist entries across 17 categories.

Full details of entries and winners are available here.

Έλληνες γιατροί ήρθαν πρώτοι στο πανευρωπαϊκό quiz καρδιολογίας στη Βαρκελώνη!

Η μονάδα καρδιολογίας ενός ελληνικού νοσοκομείου κέρδισε την πρώτη θέση, αλλά και τις εντυπώσεις σε απαιτητικό quiz καρδιολογίας που έγινε στη Βαρκελώνη. Ήταν το «fun» κομμάτι ενός πολύ υψηλού κύρους συνεδρίου, της ετήσιας συνάντησης της Πανευρωπαϊκής εταιρείας καρδιολογίας, που έγινε από τις 30 Αυγούστου έως τις 3 Σεπτεμβρίου. Πρόκειται για τους γιατρούς του ΑΧΕΠΑ στη Θεσσαλονίκη: τους Χαράλαμπο Καρβούνη, Γεώργιο Σιάνο, Γεώργιο Γιαννακούλα, Απόστολο Τζίκα, Βασίλη Καμπερίδη και Θωμά Γκόσιο.

Επικράτησαν της ρωσικής ομάδας, από το Bakulev Scientific Centre της Μόσχας και της βρετανικής, από το Royal Brompton Hospital του Λονδίνου.

Τι ζητάει ο ΣΦΕΕ από την Κυβέρνηση

Τα μέλη του ΣΦΕΕ  ζητούν από την Κυβέρνηση τον άμεσο επαναπροσδιορισμό  του ύψους της φαρμακευτικής δαπάνης στο ελάχιστο επιτρεπτό όριο των 2,3 δισ. € για φαρμακευτικό προϋπολογισμό και 700 εκατ. € για προϋπολογισμό φαρμάκου στα Νοσοκομεία προειδοποιώντας ότι οι συνέπειες της εξαθλίωσης της φαρμακευτικής περίθαλψης των Ελλήνων θα είναι πολύ μεγάλες και δυστυχώς μη προβλέψιμες.
Επιπλέον, ζητούν από το Υπουργείο Υγείας να προβεί άμεσα στα εξής:
1) Αποκατάσταση των λανθασμένων (κάτω από το μέσο όρο των 3 χαμηλότερων τιμών στις 28 χώρες της ΕΕ) τιμών των φαρμάκων και την τήρηση της κείμενης  νομοθεσίας για τον καθορισμό των τιμών των φαρμάκων
2) Το μέγιστο όριο επιστροφής της υπέρβασης από τη φαρμακευτική δαπάνη (clawback) να μην ξεπερνά τα 150 εκατ. € για το 2014 και να μην υπερβαίνει το 2% του ετήσιου στόχου από το 2015 και μετά, εφόσον προκύπτει πιστοποιημένη υπέρβαση και εφαρμοστούν οι απαραίτητες δομικές μεταρρυθμίσεις
3) Όχι άλλα επιπλέον άδικα rebates, το ύψος των οποίων ξεπερνά τα 400 € ευρώ που η φαρμακοβιομηχανία δεν μπορεί να υποστηρίξει.

Novartis και Pharmathen ενώνουν τις δυνάμεις τους

Στρατηγική συνεργασία για την συμπροώθηση (co-marketing) στην ελληνική αγορά δύο καινοτόμων φαρμακευτικών προϊόντων για τη Χρόνια Αποφρακτική Πνευμονοπάθεια (ΧΑΠ) ανακοίνωσαν οι φαρμακευτικές εταιρίες Novartis και Pharmathen.

Από την πλευρά της Novartis, ανακοινώθηκε ότι η συνεργασία με την Pharmathen, αναμένεται να οδηγήσει και να ενισχύσει τα νέα λανσαρίσματα της εταιρείας στον χώρο της ΧΑΠ. Το όφελος της προώθησης δύο πνευμονολογικών σκευασμάτων, είναι η ευρύτερη ευαισθητοποίηση και ενημέρωση για τη ΧΑΠ, όσο και η καλύτερη διάγνωση και θεραπεία αυτής.

Η αγορά των αναπνευστικών προϊόντων είναι ιδιαιτέρως ανταγωνιστική και η διατήρηση της ηγετικής θέσης απαιτεί την προσφορά αποτελεσματικών και καινοτόμων θεραπειών στους ασθενείς, στοχεύοντας στη βελτίωση της ποιότητας ζωής των ασθενών.

Germany tops global patient table for access to medicines

PharmaTimes | Lynne Taylor

Germany has come top of a new international league table in terms of access to medicines for patient organisations, with Italy and France in joint second place and the UK coming fourth.

 The survey, conducted by PatientView, asked patient groups in 12 countries or regions about their ability to gain access to medicines, for example, by influencing the health technology assessment (HTA) process in their country. The fifth-best access, after that in the UK, was found in the Nordic countries, followed by Canada in sixth place. 

 The US and central and south America are next, in joint seventh place, followed by the Netherlands and Australasia, joint ninth, then Spain in eleventh place and finally, placed twelfth, with the worst access, is Eastern Europe.

Greece is Shortlisted: European Health Award 2014

Six cutting-edge projects are in the running for the prestigious €10,000 European Health Award 2014, sponsored by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health and FOPI, which brings together Austria's research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The winner will be chosen by a panel of leading health experts, and announced during the 17th EHFG Conference, being held in the Gastein Valley.

The European Health Award honours projects and initiatives aiming to improve public health or health care in Europe. Important criteria are that more than one European country should be involved in the project, it should show innovation and be sustainable, and that the results are transferable to other states and address a significant health threat that directly benefits a substantial portion of the population or relatively large patient groups.

The top 10 best-selling multiple sclerosis drugs of 2013

Want a surefire way to shake up a drug market? Introduce new medication options that make it easier for patients to manage their disease. MS drugmakers would know; their market is all of a sudden full of them.

For one, a game-changing trio of pills is providing an alternative to injections. Novartis' ($NVS) Gilenya hit first in September 2010, followed by Sanofi's ($SNY) Aubagio and Biogen Idec's ($BIIB) Tecfidera. Two of those three, Gilenya and Tecfidera, nabbed spots on our list of Top 15 drug launch superstars after hitting the ground running. They're primed to keep moving up the food chain, too.

Then, there are new, long-acting meds like the 40-mg version of best-seller Copaxone, which hit the market just in time for maker Teva ($TEVA) to start converting patients ahead of a bumped-up May patent expiration. With a Supreme Court appeal in its patent case set to begin soon, Teva's seeing patients switch over to the new formula--injected thrice weekly, as opposed to daily--at a rate that has so far both surprised and impressed analysts. Biogen Idec, too, recently snagged the FDA's favor for its own long-lasting med, a follow-up to Avonex--dubbed Plegridy--that requires injection only once every two weeks.

Drugmakers are looking for more subtle yet significant ways to make their MS meds more attractive to patients, too. Take Biogen's Avonex Pen, for instance, green-lighted by the FDA the year before last. The Massachusetts biotech billed it as the first "intramuscular autoinjector" approved for MS and one it hoped would reduce "injection anxiety" and "pain."

1. Copaxone
2. Avonex
3. Rebif
4. Gilenya
5. Tysabri
6. Betaseron/Betaferon
7. Tecfidera
8. Ampyra
9. H.P. Acthar Gel
10. Aubagio

Θεόδωρος Τρύφων: Σε δύο χρόνια δεν θα έχουμε ελληνικό φάρμακο…

Σε συνέντευξη που παραχώρησε ο αντιπρόεδρος της ΠΕΦ Θεόδωρος Τρύφων στο TIME TV και στον δημοσιογράφο Σπύρο Κτενά, κατηγορεί την κυβέρνηση για ενδοτικότητα έναντι της τρόϊκας, επισημαίνοντας ότι, αντί να επιβάλλει η ίδια τον τρόπο που θα διατεθούν τα 2 δις. ευρώ της δημόσιας δαπάνης υγείας και να υποστηρίξει την εγχώρια παραγωγή και απασχόληση, υποστηρίζει τα ακριβά εισαγόμενα φάρμακα και τα εισαγόμενα γενόσημα.