Online update SURF’s UP
According to Manhattan Research’s latest study, physician site traffic is spread among product sites of new and early-launch stage treatments, those with clinical news coverage, and, consistent with years past, products with a significant consumer advertising component. “We have seen product sites evolve into brand gateways,” says Mark Bard, president of Manhattan Research. Rank Product 1 Januvia 2 Singulair 3 Advair 4 Chantix 5 Adderall XR Rank Product 6 Byetta 7 Gardasil 8 Vytorin 9 Avandia 10 Concerta Life-cycle Plans Product Relaunches The cost to relaunch a drug ranges from just under $10 million to just under $100 million, according to a new study from Cutting Edge Information. The study points out that the least expensive relaunch tactic to implement, on average, is drug repurposing at $8.4 million. Drug repurposing, sometimes referred to as drug repositioning, essentially revives compounds that were once thought dead. Compounds that never reach Phase III or those that failed to meet clinical study end points may be candidates for drug repurposing down the road. New indications strategies are the most expensive relaunch tactics to implement, with an average cost of $93.7 million. Among the various relaunch strategies are: n New formulations and delivery systems n New dosing strengths n New dosing regimens n Pediatric indications n New indications n Combination therapies n Drug repurposing In an era where blockbuster drugs are hard to come by, product relaunch offers manufacturers a low-cost option for generating tremendous profits. “Turning a $10 million investment into a product that returns more than $200 million a year is hard to pass up when the right opportunity comes around,” says Elio Evangelista, research team leader at Cutting Edge Information. Big pharma spends between $8.4 million and $93.7 million to relaunch drugs. Media Watch DTC TV: By the Numbers Note: Spending January through April 2007, including network and cable TV. Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus/Nielsen Media Research, New York. For more information, visit nielsenmedia.com. NETWORK TV $655.2 million CABLE TV $414.7 million GRAND TOTAL $1.07 billion
Data Merge FDA and DoD Join Forces
The FDA and the Department of Defense (DoD) have agreed to share data and expertise related to the review and use of FDA-regulated drugs, biologics, and medical devices. General patient data from the DoD, such as prescriptions, lab results, and patient weight will be used by the FDA to spot trends, which may identify potential concerns as well as recognize benefits of products. This initiative is intended to explore linking private-sector and public-sector information to create a virtual, integrated, electronic network. One of the DoD programs involved in the agreement is Tricare, the agency that administers the healthcare plan serving 9.1 million members of the uniformed services, retirees, and their families. The first data shared will most likely be Tricare prescription information. Currently, most drug studies performed before FDA approval involve about 1,000 patients, and follow-up studies use similar numbers. Data from the military health system will expand the possibilities to include millions of patients when it comes to follow-up research. Tricare covers more than 6.6 million beneficiaries. Featured Podcasts in September Please log onto pharmavoice.com/podcasts to access the following Podcast episodes, as well as others. • Improving Patient Compliance Using Ethnographic Research Featured Thought Leader: Stuart Paul, CEO, Communication Science Inc. • The Brave New ‘Real’ World: A Changed Paradigm for Documenting Product Value and Safety Post-Approval Featured Thought Leader: Jeff Trotter, Senior VP, ICON Clinical Research, Lifecycle Sciences Group (Editor’s Note: See related article on page 22 of this issue.)
