What I Learned In PharmaVOICE

I’ve been reading the magazine PharmaVOICE for the past year or so. I really enjoy it. I occasionally pull a few articles out.

I was reading the March 2011 version on the plane and found a ton of interesting information. I thought I would share some of the nuggets from it:

• In 2010, 112M people (48% of US adults) were e-pharma consumers (individuals who went online to find pharma information). (Manhattan Research)
• Fewer than 20% of consumers who go online for pharma information mistrust pharma websites (branded and unbranded).

“We found the degree to which consumers are open to online content from manufacturers surprising, considering the common perception that consumers are generally critical of pharma generated information.” (Manhattan Research Healthcare Marketing Analyst Maureen Malloy)

• Top Prescribing-Driving Sites (Manhattan Research):
  • Levitra
  • Chantix
  • Cialis
  • Nexium
  • Yaz
  • Lyrica
  • NuvaRing
  • Symbicort
  • Viagra
  • Lunesta
• Talk about how research is now “peer reviewed” via social media – original article.
• Talk about the Sanofi-Aventis blog – Discuss Diabetes – which enables two-way conversations with patients in public.
• Talk about how Merck is helping patients engage with consumers using online videos and checklists.
• Talk about a text messaging service focused at teens and young adults for adherence – www.ireminder.com.
• An interesting article by Ogilvy about 8 Health Engagement Zones and 7 things to keep in mind about public and individual communications:
  • Technology is not a panacea…it has to be adopted and incorporated into everyday behavior.
  • Information must be communicated and interpreted effectively to change behavior.
  • To cut through the “clutter”, information will increasingly be communicated via story-telling and visualization.
  • Technology will allow us to create the right message with the right tone in the right place at the right time. [or already does allow for this with the Silverlink Platform]
  • Health messaging will become personalized. [already happening]
  • Highly targeted, persistent, positive messaging will be needed to help overcome fear and embarrassment.
  • Although health is a serious matter, we don’t always have to take ourselves seriously when it comes to health communications. (e.g., gaming)
• In the year ending Oct. 2010, $4.4B was spent on DTC advertising around pharmaceuticals.
• According to the E&Y Progressions 2011 report:
  • Pharma 3.0 success will be “based not on how many drug units are sold, but on how well pharma’s market offerings improve health outcomes, putting patients and payers at the center of the model”.
  • Pharma investments in condition support tools – smartphone apps, websites, devices, and social media – was up 78%.
• In a recent Harris poll, only 11% of respondents perceived the pharmaceutical industry as generally honest and trustworthy.
• According to SDI, there’s been a shift in spending from 2007-2009:
  • 30% decrease in print
  • 32% increase in online activities targeting physicians
  • 29% decrease in magazine DTC advertising
  • 300% increase in internet advertising
• Learned about a physician “hotlink” (my name) by AstraZeneca where they can connect with the AZ medical affairs team by a feature on their iPhone – formulary status, adverse event reporting, request samples, …
• Similarly, learned about an “Ask Pfizer” button in Sermo.
• According to the Manhattan Research’s ePharma Consumer v10.0 study – almost 3/4^th of the people visiting pharma websites take a product related action afterwards. (That’s amazing!)

“When pharma is thought of as a health-services industry, the possibilities for growth in revenue, engagement, personalization, and freedom from pipeline dependency are almost endless.” (Paul Simms, eyeforpharma)

• A list of manufacturers and what percentage of their portfolio is at risk in the next 3 years for patent expiration:
  • #1 Pfizer with $53.6B and 68% of their portfolio
  • #2 Lilly with $20.8B and 66% of their portfolio

“The industry has to address the consumer population across multiple channels with information that is timely, easy to understand, accurate, and actionable.” (Deborah Schnell, Health Advice Networks)

• There was an article discussing a great question about whether “brand equity” exists after patent expiration.
• There was talk about the shifting “customer” of pharma from the physician to the consumer and the formulary committee.
• There were some statistics from a Tufts study on REMS where 75% of people thought the program needed a major overhaul.

I shared a lot here to make a point…this is a monthly magazine packed with interesting content. If you’re in this space, you should be reading it.