“The Catalyst system allows an advertiser to pro vide customers with specific information that has been tailored to the answers they provide and is writ ten in a style they’re comfortable with,” says David Sadock,VP, marketing and sales, HealthAnswers Inc., Pennington, N.J. “Regardless of whether the con sumer is undiagnosed, diagnosed but not treated, or treated but dissatisfied,the Catalyst system offers cus tomers relevant content and tools.” iKNOW A NEW SOLUTION FOR A GLOBAL PRODUCT LAUNCH iKnow,a global new product launch solution, is being introduced to the industry by Skila Inc., a provider of Webbased global knowledge solutions for the pharmaceutical,medical device,and biotechnology industries. iKnow integrates global business intelligence, technology,and knowledge services to shorten timetomar ket and increase market uptake of healthcare products. “Shorter product lifecycles make product uptake at launch a critical factor,”says Ed Marro,president of Skila, Mahwah,N.J.“Each month saved in the product launch process can equate to $50 million to $100 million in additional revenue during the product’s first year.” iKnow provides a unique process for acquiring, creating, synthesizing, and sharing information and insights across all the functions participating in the new product launch process — from clinical and drug regulatory affairs to marketing and sales. In addition to improving timetomarket and the product uptake curve, clients can expect the new product launch solution to deliver secondary benefits such as saved time and increased productivity. Contributing to the development of the platform architecture underlying the iKnow New Product Launch solution was National Decision Systems, an ebusiness consulting company specializing in Internetenabled solutions. NDS contributed to the project planning and management,designing of the platform architecture and staffing of the project with technical resources with experience in emerging and critical technologies. Marshall Edwards to DEVELOP and COMMERCIALIZE anticancer products Novogen Ltd.has created a new company called Marshall Edwards Inc.to develop and commercialize phe noxodiol, a new anticancer drug candidate now approved for human clinical trials in the United States. Marshall Edwards will apply to be publicly traded on the Australian stock market, ASX and has filed a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, to raise US$28million as an initial pub lic offering, before seeking an ASX listing. Marshall Edwards is licensed to complete current human clinical trials of phenoxodiol in two Australian hospitals and commence the U.S. clinical trial. The Food and Drug Adminis tration recently granted phenoxodiol investigational new drug status in the United States. Marshall Edwards also has the worldwide rights to distribute andmarket the drug for all oral and injectable anticancer treatments. Prostate cancer is the main cancer target for phenoxodiol. Prostate cancer is the second most common diagnosed cancer in men and is also the second most prevalent cause of cancer death in men. In addition to the rights to phenoxodiol for oral and injectable anticancer uses, Marshall Edwards also has the first and last rights to inlicense all other anticancer compounds that are in development at Novogen. HealthAnswers, a healthcare communications company, designed the new system to provide tai lored information about specific pharmaceutical products to consumers who respond to a consumer ad. With the Catalyst system, advertisers respond with individualized information that turns the mes sage into a onetoone relationship. Messages are delivered through interactive mul timedia tools matched to the user’s learning style and provide consumers with authoritative health information tailored to their specific needs. In addi tion, the Catalyst system, enhanced by animation and patient testimonials, enables the user to better identify their condition and select a course of action through the use of behaviorchange methodolo gies, increasing the likelihood they will see a doctor and request the advertised product. The system incorporates a stateofthe art management tool to help the consumer pursue the best treatment options. IMPROVING THE ROI ON DTC HealthAnswers’ Catalyst system provides responders to mass audience messages with targeted information that encourages action and results in scripts.The system is available online and offline. .COM NEWS Biotech information resource launched by Frost & Sullivan Biotech.frost.com is an online strategic analy sis service recently formed by Frost & Sullivan’s Drug Discovery Technologies group to help biotechnology companies navigate the obsta cles of profitability and gain a competitive edge. According to Frost & Sullivan, in 2000, biotechnology companies generated revenue of about $50 billion worldwide; a record 32 biotechnology drugs, vaccines, and new indica tions for existing medicines were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000. With less than one drug in 10 successfully completing clinical trials, the biotechnology industry operates in a world where failure is the norm. Companies are under constant pressure to produce blockbuster products while short ening the drug development and discovery process.With high revenue growth expected in an ever changing market, companies must rely on and use market consulting to remain suc cessful and cost effective. “We think the biotech industry today is where the computer industry was in the 1970s,” says Surabhi Garg,Ph.D.,drug discovery manag er.“Our mission is to provide the most compre hensive analysis of the industries and technolo gies that support the discovery of new agents by biopharmaceutical, agchem, agbio, and other lifesciences companies.” Optimize Your DTC Advertising Dollar One Message Various Info Needs Tailored Messages Called to Action Undiagnosed Recently diagnosed Diagnosed Info seeker Diagnosed and dissatisfied Caregiver DTC Ad The Catalyst system provides responses to mass audience messages with targeted information that encourages action and results in scripts. 55 PharmaVOICE J u l y / Aug u s t 2 00 1 WHAT’S new J.D.Power and Associates has created a new divi sion called CareData, the Health Care Division. The new company was formed through the acquisition of CareData Reports, a division of CareData.com Inc., which provides syndicated and custom healthcare related studies based on actual customer experi ences with healthcare products and services. The division will provide strategic consultation, training, and implementation services by leveraging the experience of existing J.D. Power and Associates’ resources and through other strategic alliances. “We have been working for several years to bring voiceofthecustomer information to decisionmak ers in the healthcare industry,” says Steve Goodall, president and chief operating officer at J.D. Power and Associates. “With CareData Reports and our experience conducting customer satisfaction research, we are anchoring our position as a well respected independent evaluator of healthcare products and services.” The new CareData division will be led by Steven D. Wood, Ph.D., a researcher and consultant in the healthcare industry for more than 20 years. Other executive members of the CareData division team are David Stefan,director of operations and develop ment, and Anthony Morgan, executive director of research. CareData’s products include historical and trend information on healthcare customer satisfaction, pharmacy benefits, disease management and pre vention, hospitals and medical group practices, den tal, and vision care.
BRINGING THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER TO THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Blending the experience of healthcare market analysts and research consultants, J.D.Power and Associates has formed a new healthcare division that will provide the industry with relevant and actionable information and services for managed healthcare plans,pharmaceutical companies, medical providers,hospitals and integrated delivery networks,employers,and consumers. Biotech.frost.com provides global coverage of recent advances in genomics, proteomics, pharma cogenomics, highthroughput screening, functional genomics, gene therapy, bioinformatics, and other markets.The first deliverable in the Biotech.frost.com subscription series is the Proteomics Market Service. Driven by advances in genomics, the markets for proteomics technologies is expected to boom in the next five years reaching about $5.8 billion by 2005. The Proteomics Market Service provides consistent strategic updates of competitor profiles, protein profiles of tissues, two dimensional gel electrophore sis, gene expression, gene regulation, transcription factors, and protein function. Frost & Sullivan is a global leader in international strategic market consulting and training. Frost & Sullivan’s industry experts monitor the drug discovery industry for market trends, market measurements and strategies.
Ophthalmic website for managed care organizations
A first of its kind Web based free Internet service from Novartis Ophthalmics Inc. helps managed care organizations provide important information to healthcare providers and their patients about eye diseases and their treatments quickly and easily. The online service, www.OphthaInsight.com, offers information that can be customtailored with the click of a mouse by managedcare administrators who need to keep network physicians and their patients uptodate on the proper use of drugs. The protected site, which can be accessed only by password, offers prewritten educational and pro motional materials, including formulary announce ment letters for physicians and patienteducation brochures. Administrators can customize the text and add their company logos. “Before, it took months for materials to be creat ed,approved and,printed,”says Robert Phipps,direc tor of managed care and government affairs for Novartis Ophthalmics,North America.“Now adminis trators can customize information for their physi cians in about 30 minutes, and we can have the printed materials back to them in 14 days. More importantly, the program helps managedcare orga nizations encourage their physicians to comply with their formulary decisions.” The site provides information about the formula ry status and benefits of Novartis’ products such as Rescula for treating glaucoma and Zaditor, a multi pleaction ocular allergy product that relieves itchy eyes for up to 12 hours. Atlantabased AdairGreene Healthcare Commu nications developed OphthaInsight.com in partner ship with Novartis Ophthalmics. EnhancedWebsite for consumers Medscape,a leading provider of digital health records and online health information, has enhanced its consumer health Website, www.CBSHealth Watch.com, to offer consumers a more personal, interactive, and userfriendly online experience. The redesigned site offers a wider array of interactive health tools. Specifically, the site introduces Smart Search, a feature that allows users to refine their searches and quickly locate information by using parameters that include subject, media type, publication date, level of complexity, age,and gender. CBSHealthWatch provides consumers with a broad range of information related to a spe cific health topic or disease through its 48Topic Centers. In addition, feature content is available in three levels — basic, advanced, and expert. Basic content gives users a general overview of a health topic;advanced content provides users with more indepth information about the lat est developments in specific health topics;and expert content supplies users with information designed for healthcare professionals through search engines. “CBSHealthWatch provides the most com prehensive resource of information for con sumers based on their informational needs and actually goes `beyond the basic’ to provide access to advanced and expert level content,” saysTammy Lewis,seniorVP,marketing for Med scape. “Features like these differentiate us from other health Websites.” Vaccine Website launched for consumers and physicians A new ecommerce Website, www.vac cineworld.com, provides information about vaccines and related health topics for health care professionals andconsumers.Launched by Wyeth Lederle Vaccines, the site is a key com ponent in the company’s strategy to respond to the growing needs of healthcare professionals. Physicians can place orders online. Consumers can easily access general information on vac cines, as well as specific information about Wyeth Lederle vaccines, immunization sched ules, and community access programs. The Healthy Women store display features prod ucts relevant to a bimonthly featured health theme, as well as pamphlets and other information resources pertaining to women’s health. The pro gramalso features:a pharmacist education program, printed monographs on women’s health topics pro vided with prescription medications, and informa tion about CVS.com, the drugstore’s Website, and information on links to women’s health sites. Health information at Healthy Women display is prepared in conjunction with the Partnership for Women’s Health at Columbia University. Health top ics address breast health and stress management. The first featured theme is bone health. PHARMACY APPEAL FORWOMEN More than 1,900 CVS/pharmacy retail outlets in NewYork,Chicago,Philadelphia,Washington D.C., Providence,and Boston are offering information on women’s health issues.