E-MEDIA
NEW ELECTRONIC AND WEBBASED APPLICATIONS, SITES, AND TECHNOLOGIES
SoftWatch and InfoMedics DELIVER INTEGRATED MARKETING SOLUTION
SoftWatch Inc.and InfoMedics Inc.have launched a joint solution for optimizing patient-fulfillment programs executed simultaneously across multiple communications channels, including direct mail, call center, and the Web.
The solution enables companies to tailor the delivery of treatment and product information to patients based on their needs and preferred mode of communication.
The joint solution is based on the integration of SoftWatch’s SRS Enter prise Edition (SRS) and InfoMedics’ multichannel InteractiveTouchpoint System (ITS). SRS is an extensible Web environment for deploying dynamic healthcare consumer and professional portals, including the SRS Pharma solution suite. InfoMedics’ ITS system uses integrated database technology to drive personalized physician and patient communications across multiple touch points, including email, business reply card, fax,and tollfree callin numbers.
Through the joint solution, usersubmitted requests for materials and information are automatically synchronized within the ITS database. Companies can track and determine the effectiveness of each channel in driving enrollment and identify customer preferences for communication channels and content in future communications.
“At the crux of our partnership with InfoMedics is recognizing phar ma’s need to coordinate online and offline strategies that are designed to improve patient education and satis faction with therapy,” says Fred King, CEO of SoftWatch. “While theWeb provides an important channel for reaching out to today’s healthcare consumer, it is still only one element in the channel mix. Leveraging the Internet’s strength as an interactive and personalized medium with advantages for consumers requires a vision, one that determines how it will function as part of a cohesive marketing plan to enhance the overall customer experience.”
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Tailored delivery of treatment and product information to patients is based on their needs and preferred mode of communication.
IMS and Harris Interactive To Create
PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS
An IMS HealthHarris Interactive alliance is expected to result in the development of global,online physician panels that are unmatched in reliability, scale, and scope; and custom research and consulting ser vices that will provide anunprecedentedunderstandingof howmar ketplace dynamics influence prescriber attitudes and behaviors.
This alliance offers pharmaceutical clients a powerful tool for optimizing sales and marketing performance — combining IMS’s proficiency in tracking worldwide prescriber activity with Harris’ Internet expertise in measuring attitudes about why physicians prescribe the way they do.
“We’re excited about this alliance and the value it brings to clients,” says DavidThomas, IMSchairman and CEO. “Together,we canpresent an even more comprehensive picture of pharmaceutical market activity — with expanded coverage, faster feedback, and greater granularity.The combination of Harris Interactive’s advanced online capabilities and IMS’s global data resources and industry knowhow will strengthen our clients’understanding of the prescription decisions physicians make, and why they make them.”
Through the alliance, online panelbased research and prescription intelligence will be leveraged to provide customers with a deeper under standing of how a product is performing in one market or across multiple geographies; in terms of prescription activity as well as from the viewpoint of doctors’ and patients’attitudes and perceptions.
The two companies, which haveworked together on consulting initiatives since 2001, also agreed to develop and sell a variety of offerings to their U.S. pharmaceutical clients.Among the first is aperformancemanagement system that enables decision makers to assess key variables that drive the success of new products — from communication and promotional strategies, to prescribing decisions and therapeutic out comes.
Harris has tens of thousands of U.S.physicians and hundreds of thousandsof patients screened from its mul timillion member panel of respondents who have voluntarily agreed to participate in market research. IMS and Harris plan to expand panel coverage beyond the United States to include physicians in Western Europe.
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“Our past investment in the Internet now allows us to quickly expand our global panels and join with IMS to provide new services to help our clients cut through the complexities of the marketplace — all delivered at a speed and value that have not been possible before,” says Gordon Black, chairman and CEO of Harris Interactive.
Choice Media Creates ONLINE TARGETED CARDIOVASCULAR AUDIENCE
Two recent agreements give the Choice Media Inc. network the largest cardiovascular audience on the Internet with more than 8.3 million targeted monthly page views and 750,000 worldwide unique visitors. The company’s agreements with Web pub lishers HeartCenterOnline.com and HeartInfo.org expand the Choice Media network to more than 55 million page views and 6 million unique worldwide visitors per month.
HeartCenterOnline is one of the most widely viewedonline cardiovascular sites providing informa tion and services to the heartdisease patient popu lation as well as marketing solutions for professional cardiologist practices. Choice Media provides pharmaceutical compa nies with the ability to distribute product information and content through the HeartCenterOnline brand.
Choice Media can work with marketers to develop and design a sponsored partnership center, which can be placed in one of 55 topic centers directly related to their product.
HeartInfo.org, the Heart Information Network, is an independent, educational Website that provides con sumers with information and services for the preven tion, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease. HeartInfo provides original content in more than 25 subject areas,as well as medical animations,patient guides, risk factors for heart disease, and more.
“The addition of these two awardwinning pub lishers provides our advertisers with the opportunity to reach not only a highly targeted and motivated consumer market, but also a professional cardiovascular practitioner market,”says Ash Nashed,M.D.,CEO, president, and cofounder of Choice Media.
MedManage Systems Launches ONLINE DRUG SAMPLING PLATFORM
MedManage Systems has launched the OmniSample Solu tion, an online system that expands the ability of pharmaceutical com panies to distribute drug samples to physicians.
The cornerstone of MedMan age’s OmniSample Solution is the Webbased eMedSample Platform, which enables registered health care professionals to order sample medications and view related drug information online. The solution provides physicians with conve nient and instant access to samples. Pharmaceutical companies benefit from increasing new and total prescription sales — often correlated with the distribution of sample medications.
“We’ve developed new capa bilities that expand and enhance one of the most important sales and marketing strategies for driv ing prescription drug sales,” says Cecil Kost, presi dent and CEO of MedManage Systems. “Our OmniSample Solution reduces the costs associated with expanding sample access. Given eMedSam ple’s flexibility and scalability, the solution offers pharmaceutical companies an enterprisewide sampling system capable of supporting all product initiatives regardless of stage in the product life cycle.”
To ensure ease of use and the rapid fulfillment of sample requests, the eMedSample Platform is linked to physician access points on the Internet and sample fulfillment com panies that store and distribute sam ples to authorized physicians.
The solution consists of four components: the eMedSample Plat form,which enables pharmaceutical companies to provide physicians with Webbased access to medica tion samples and sample vouchers; PhysicianTargeting and Recruitment Services, which help pharmaceutical companies qualify and expand their physician network; Alternative Drug Sampling Systems, including vouch ers and coupons for use with physi cians and consumers;andMarketing Informatics, which provide impor tant utilization statistics,promotional response analytics (samples to sales correlations),and return on investment analyses.
MedManage’s OmniSample Solution augments the fieldsales staff by providing easy access to drug samples to a broader physician audience and it allows pharmaceutical companies to support matur ing products through its online sample service.
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We expect the OmniSample Solution to have a major impact on the way medications are marketed and on sales of prescription medications — Cecil Kost.
Cutting Edge Information Provides Industry DATA VIA WEBSITE
Cutting Edge Information has launched cut tingedgepharma.com, a research Website for pharmaceutical and biotechnology marketers who need access to indepth data on a wide range of industry related topics.
The Website is designed to deliver realworld insights from the leaders in pharmaceutical marketing.The data housed at the Website is basedon years of strategic marketing experience from executives at Pfizer, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly & Co., Amgen, Chiron, Aventis, and Novartis.
“The purpose of cuttingegdepharma.com is to provide marketing executives a single point of refer ence for their research needs,”says Jason Richardson, Cutting Edge Information’s president.
The Website provides research on a number of critical competencies, such as blockbuster pharmaceutical launches,managing key opinion leader relationships, pharmaceutical-biotechnology alliances, lifetime customer value in the pharmaceutical industry, and maximizing brand value.
The Website also offers pharmaceutical executives the opportunity to participate in new research on critical issues, including earlystage market preparation, pharmaceutical sales, and prelaunch market research.
IRI and RxList.com Develop SOURCE OF CONSUMER AND PATIENT INFORMATION
Information Resources Inc.’s Healthcare Solutions Group and RxList.com have developed a destination content portal for healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing professionals. The portal is designed to provide more than 800,000 unique monthly visitors with continuously updated topline analysis and con tent on healthcare marketing issues.
The companies are sharing critical consumer panelbased and point-of-sale-based patient and consumer insights with the pharmaceutical and healthcare marketplace through a recently entered alliance.
The portal delivers intelligence on such issues as direct-to-consumer advertising effectiveness, consumer and market impact of new prescription product launches and prescription to over-the-counter switches, the role of pricing in compliance, and con comitant use trends between prescription and over the counter medications and health and wellness consumer products.
“The power of RxList.com’s highly trafficked Web site with IRI’s RxPulse suite of products provides a rich platform of content the healthcare industry is clamoring for,” says Steve Johnson,executive VP and general manager of IRI’s Healthcare Solutions Group.
Collaboration Aims to IMPROVE QUALITY OF ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATION
The development of strategies to improve consumer healthrelated Internet searches is the goal of a collab oration between URAC and ConsumerWebWatch.Funded by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Founda tion and with support from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the initiative is the first in-depth examination of the role of search engines in improving access to quality health information.
“A search for health information is one of the primary reasons consumers use the Internet; 75 million Ameri can adults — 66% of those with Internet access — have used the Web to get health or medical information online,” says Susannah Fox of the Pew Internet & American Life Project and a member of the project advisory committee.
Pew data also show that, of those consumers who do rely on the Internet for healthrelated information,eight of 10 answered their last health question through a search.
The first component of the project involves URAC and Consumer Web Watch commissioning acomprehensive study to identify how consumers cur rently carry out Internet health searches and highlight possible strategies for directing consumer Internet searches based on sound quality criteria.
The study will serve as the foundation for the second stage of the project, a summit of online health community leaders to identify and discuss strategies for improving the effectiveness of health information online. The summit will result in a consensus on future research and development to improve the quality of Internet searches for consumers.
“For many people,search engines are the main source of guidance for trying to locate important health information online,”says Beau Brendler, director of ConsumerWebWatch. “Yet our research and others’research onhealthWeb sites has raised concerns about the quality and credibility of information on the Web.”
RealAge and Healthology TEAMUP TO PROVIDE STREAMING VIDEO CONTENT
Healthology’s streaming video content is now part of RealAge’s online medical library. RealAge’s 5 million members have access to Healthology’s library of healthrelated streaming videoWebcasts.The video also has been added as a complement to RealAge’s more than 30 interactive health assessments.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to com plement our health assessments with Healthology’s comprehensive multimedia library, as we are com mitted to continually expanding our health offerings to meet the needs of our members,” says Charlie Silver, chairman of RealAge.
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75 million American adults — 66% of those with Internet access — have used the Web to get health or medical information online.
IntraLinksQuorum Review Alliance Brings EFFICIENCIES TO INVESTIGATOR REVIEW PROCESS
A comarketing alliance has made Quorum Review Inc. templates available within IntraLinks clinicaltrial workspaces for potential investigators to use when submitting credentials for review. This partnership is expected to make drugdevelopment hubs more efficient.
“The institutional review board community (IRB) on IntraLinks has grown tremendously over the past year, and we expect this growth to continue as we bring more IRBs into our drugdevelopment hub,” says Richard Jenkins,general manager of life sciences at IntraLinks. “Our partnership with Quorum Review provides our phar maceutical clients with yet another link to an integral component of the clinicaltrial process.”
IntraLinks service connects members of the pharmaceutical community and accelerates the flow of infor mation among IRBs, CROs, SMOs, investigators, and pharmaceutical companies. By forming alliances with Quorum, an IRB, and other IRBs around the country, IntraLinks brings additional efficiencies to study start up for its pharmaceutical clients.
“We work with hundreds of pharmaceutical sponsors, contract research organizations, site management organizations, and investigators,” says Greg Fritz, CEO of Quorum Review. “By using IntraLinks, we are reinforcing our commitment to innovative methods of assistance in the clinicaltrial process and the reduction of turnaround time.”
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CHOICE MEDIA INC., Somerville,N.J., is an online health network that represents premium-branded Web properties to global,bluechip marketers, while optimizing the buying, selling, and delivery of online marketing solutions. For more information,visit choicemedia.com.
CONSUMER WEBWATCH,Yonkers,N.Y.,a nonprofit project of Consumers Union, investigates, informs,and improves the credibility of information on theWeb.For more information, visit consumerwebwatch.org.
CUTTING EDGE INFORMATION, Durham, N.C., is a business intelligence firm providing primary and secondary research reports on a wide range of business subjects. For more information, visit cuttingedgeinfo.com.
HARRIS INTERACTIVE, Rochester,N.Y., is a worldwide market research and consulting firm that combines the power of methodologies and technology with international expertise in predictive, custom,and strategic research. For more information, visit harrisinteractive.com.
HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS GROUP, Chicago, a unit of Information Resources Inc., provides pharmaceutical, healthcare, and consumer goods companies,as well as retailers, with consumer intelligence, targeting, and analytic services.For more information,visit infores.com.
HEALTHOLOGY INC., NewYork, is a privately held media company that develops text, broadcast, and Webcast health programming using an extensive network of physicians across the country. For more information,visit healthology.com.
HEARTCENTERONLINE, BocaRaton,Fla.,pro vides online information and services to the heartdisease patient population and marketing solutions for cardiologist practices. For more information,visit heartcenteronline.com.
HEARTINFO.ORG,Chatham,N.J.,The Heart Information Network, is owned and operated by TriGenesis Communications, a medical marketing communications company that provides communications solutions to professional,consumer,and patient markets. TriGenesis Communications is a division of MediMedia USA. For more information,visit heartinfo.org.
IMS HEALTH, Fairfield, Conn., operating in more than 100 countries, is a provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.For more information,visit imshealth.com.
INFOMEDICS INC.,Woburn, Mass.,is a worldwide developer and marketer of patient experience data, realworld medication feedback, and outcomes information gathered from physicians’ patients. For more information, visit infomedics.com.
INTRALINKS INC., NewYork, a provider of digital workspaces,connects business communities Follow up and accelerates the intelligent flow of information and documents among participants. For more information,visit intralinks.com.
MEDMANAGE SYSTEMS,Bothell,Wash., offers prescription drug sampling solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. For more information,visit medmanagesystems.com.
QUORUM REVIEW INC., Seattle, is an independent institutional review board,with the mission of safeguarding the rights and well-being of research participants while enhancing the clinicalresearch process. For more information,visit quorumirb.com.
REALAGE,San Diego,is a DTC healthcare marketing company for consumer information and personalized solutions. For more information,visit realage.com.
RXLIST.COM,San Francisco,which is owned and operated by RxList LLC, is a source of pharmaceutical information on the Internet geared toward consumers and medical professionals.For more information,visit rxlist.com.
SOFTWATCH INC., NewYork, is a provider of enterprisewide Internet relationship management software and services for the global health and lifescience industry. For more information, visit softwatch.com.
URAC, Washington, D.C.,offers 14 accreditation programs that span a broad spectrum of healthcare services. For more information,visit urac.org.