INDUSTRY at Large Awards…
Medicis Receives Recognition for Ethical Initiatives Medicis has been selected for the second consecutive year as the only pharmaceutical company in the world named to the Ethisphere Institute’s World’s Most Ethical Companies (WME) list. This award recognizes high-performing organizations that have achieved leadership positions in their respective industries through exemplary business ethics and corporate responsibility. In particular, the company’s Passion to Heal initiative, which was introduced in 2011 with a goal of greatly increasing access to specialized healthcare in underserved communities, serves as a conduit for HCPs to provide medical services for those in need both domestically and internationally. Sanofi Creates Boy Scout Badge Program Sanofi US worked with the Catalina Council of the Boy Scouts of America to develop a Chemistry Merit Badge program. Boy Scout participants had the chance to interact with company biologists and chemists, under whose guidance they completed activities geared toward badge completion. The scouts had the opportunity to rotate through five stations focused on chemistry in the Sanofi labs in Tucson, Ariz., to learn about personal protective equipment, gases, solids and liquids, and how matter changes with environmental conditions. Survey: Business Model is Broken Confirming pessimism about the state of the pharmaceutical industry, a recent Booz &?Company survey of U.S.-based and E.U.-based pharmaceutical sales and marketing executives reveals that 68% believe the current business model is broken. The survey conducted jointly by Booz and National Analysts Worldwide, found that the greatest challenges identified by respondents are: the growing healthcare system, price/budget pressures, and an increasing need to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and outcomes. In response to these challenges, more than half of the respondents expect to invest more heavily in marketing to key provider accounts and payers. Among the strategies seen as most important are new approaches to pricing, new service models, and new collaborations with payers. Podcasts Top Ten Patient Recruitment and Retention Myths Thought Leader: Scott Connor, Acurian Whitepapers Top Ten Myths in Clinical Trial Enrollment and Retention Sponsored by: Acurian Regional Marketing: Healthcare in a Whole New Light Sponsored by: Healthcare Regional Marketing Boy Scouts Lance Niemeyer, Ambrose Corey, and Ryan Souter from Troop 270, work on their chemistry Merit Badge in Sanofi’s labs in Tucson, Ariz. Quote of the Month… “I find the most effective leadership technique is to help others feel they are working from their own initiative." Jeanne Blanchard Ogilvy CommonHealth Medical Marketing Abbott to Separate into Two Companies AbbVie will be the name of the new, independent research-based pharmaceutical company that Abbott expects to launch by the end of 2012. The naming of the new company is the latest milestone in the process that began in October 2011, when Abbott announced it would separate into two publicly traded companies, one in diversified medical products and the other in research-based pharmaceuticals. AbbVie, the research-based pharmaceutical company, will include Abbott’s current portfolio of proprietary pharmaceuticals and biologics. Physicians Want Value And Practical solutions Publicis Touchpoint Solutions’ What Physicians Want survey fielded in conjunction with Sermo found that physicians are seeking practical help and value for their practices to help them better serve their patients. Survey highlights show that physicians are asking for: » Higher-quality representatives » Nontraditional representatives » Technology improvements — iPads are a clear hit with doctors with 82% wanting to see more use of iPads or other tablets by sales representatives calling on their practices » More digital communications from life-sciences companies The survey also explored physicians’ use of — and attitudes about — social networking activity, additional digital channels, medical education, preferred patient communication modalities, and other day-to-day challenges. Results show physicians’ attention is on health outcomes and finding new ways to support and educate patients. A new white paper with full survey results is available at http://bit.ly/HqetOS. R&D Spending Holds Steady PhRMA member companies invested an estimated $49.5 billion in R&D in 2011 compared with $50.7 billion in 2010. The U.S. biopharmaceutical sector accounts for the single largest share of all U.S. business R&D, representing almost 20% of all domestic R&D funded by U.S. businesses. In the United States, R&D expenditures among PhRMA members represents 21.1% of domestic sales. Last year, 35 NMEs received FDA approval — one of the highest totals in the last decade. These include medicines that address significant unmet medical needs, including 2 personalized medicines for cancer, 11 new medicines for patients with rare diseases, 1 new medicine for lupus, the first since 1955, and 2 first-in-a-new-class medicines to treat Hepatitis C. There are more than 3,200 medicines in clinical trials or undergoing FDA review in the United States, up from 2,400 in 2005. R&D Spending Year PhRMA Members 2011 $49.5 billion (est.) 2010 $50.7 billion 2009 $46.4 billion 2008 $47.4 billion 2007 $47.9 billion 2006 $43.0 billion 2005 $39.9 billion 2004 $37.0 billion 2000 $26.0 billion 1990 $8.4 billion 1980 $2.0 billion Value Disconnect The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) finds biopharma companies worldwide are concerned about how best to demonstrate the value of their newly developed medications to healthcare payers. The report, sponsored by Quintiles, finds that paradoxically, the challenge of demonstrating value stems from the industry’s past successes. With so many existing treatments already on the market, biopharmaceutical companies are finding it even more difficult to demonstrate the value of their new products to healthcare payers. The report — Reinventing biopharma: Strategies for an evolving marketplace — is available at managementthinking.eiu.com/ value-challenge.html.
