NEW YORK, US, December 12, 2023

New research from Bryter, involving over 300 clinicians treating rare diseases across the U.S. and international markets, provides unique insights into how pharmaceutical companies can enhance their engagement and marketing effectiveness in the field of rare diseases. 

In an era of information overload, Bryter's research highlights the imperative for pharmaceutical companies to enhance the quality of their marketing content. Pharma should focus on creating easily accessible materials for clinicians, available on-demand when consulting with rare disease patients. This ensures effective support in making challenging decisions, especially considering these patients constitute only a small proportion of clinicians’ total caseloads.

Rare diseases have a devastating impact on people’s lives, and there is a considerable unmet need, with around 95% of rare diseases lacking effective treatment. Pharmaceutical companies worldwide are working to address this, developing new biologic and small molecule treatments across various specializations, offering hope for the future. However, rare diseases constitute only a fraction of clinicians' caseloads. Clinicians are not actively seeking updates or monitoring new developments. Seventy-seven percent of clinicians agree that pharmaceutical companies play an essential role in keeping them up to date on new developments.

Ben Gibbons, Founder & Director of Bryter, said, “With the growing investment in rare disease research and development, pharmaceutical companies need to understand clinician preferences for marketing materials and engagement and how these evolve through the treatment decision-making journey. Nearly a quarter of clinicians currently feel that the content they receive from pharmaceutical companies is rarely useful to them.”

Fewer than half of clinicians are satisfied with the main digital channels used by pharmaceutical companies, with email being the worst performer. 

Clinicians' receptiveness to digital content varies significantly across markets – physicians in Brazil and Japan are often more welcoming of digital engagement. In contrast, in-person contact with sales representatives remains highly valued in Germany.

Further insights are available from Bryter's report '3 Principles for Rare Disease Marketing Success' at https://www.bryter-global.com/principles-in-marketing-in-rare-disease or contact Ben Gibbons at [email protected] for a more detailed discussion.