'Pharma companies aren't profiteering'
Drug costs are regularly criticised as being too high - and the pharmaceutical industry attacked for not making them cheaper. But David Fisher, commercial director for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, says companies are unfairly attacked.
Greater generic use would reduce the Italian drugs bill, but are Italians ready for generic substitution?
In line with other countries in the region, the Italian population is ageing and the proportion over 65 years has already exceeded 20%. As it continues to rise, there will inevitably be a corresponding increase in chronic and long-term medical conditions and increasing demand for pharmaceutical products to treat them.
At the same time, the government is keen to curtail the drugs bill and introduced a series of austerity measures last summer that included reimbursement limits for off-patent drugs and generic drug price cuts. However, the emphasis is on increasing the volume of generics in the Italian health system.
NHS Commissioning Board "should see pharma as a partner for innovation
The new NHS Commissioning Board should develop a relationship with pharmaceutical and medical technology suppliers "which supports its strategic approach to innovation and development," according to a new document outlining NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson's initial thinking on the Board.
Value Proposition
There is often uncertainty when trying to define what a value proposition is, how it is constructed and what it drives, yet it is a key determinant of success, increasingly.
R&D costs are soaring as pipelines continue to fail to bring innovative step-change therapies to market, while patents are being successfully challenged by generic manufacturers. Simultaneously, companies are looking to maximise their profits on any new products that make it to market, leading to an immediate conflict with almost every healthcare system's need to control costs.
Consequently, demonstrating value to stakeholders is probably the most important aspect of pharma marketing today. It is the responsibility of the entire cross-functional team to ensure that a genuine value is created and that customers see value at every interaction they have with the brand.
Why pharma sales and marketing means solving
customer problems
Donna Vetter explores how learning receptivity can be used to build better customer-to-brand experiences in the specialty care category.
In pharma today—particularly as more products fall within the category of specialty care and where brands often target specialized healthcare professionals and their disease sufferers—success is directly linked to a company’s ability to provide value vis-à-vis provision of relevant information and education to customers.
Cost-effective evidence "rarely used" in NHS budget decisions: study
While National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals focus on cost-effectiveness, this does not appear to be "the dominant consideration" in NHS decisions about resource allocation, according to a new study.
Clinical commissioning is pharmacy choice for NHS
This week the Royal Pharmaceutical Society brought together representatives from the RPS and other organisations in England (see Panel) to provide suggestions for the NHS Future Forum set up by the Government as part of the listening exercise on the Health and Social Care Bill. The discussion was led by Ash Soni, a Future Forum member who is also a community pharmacist, and Kathy McLean, NHS medical director at East Midlands Strategic Health Authority, who is leading the work on clinical advice and leadership for the forum.
MSD collaborates with London teaching hospital to offer joint preregistration training
Pharmaceutical company MSD is offering a six-month preregistration industry placement as part of a new training programme developed with a London teaching hospital.
Two pharmacy graduates will be funded to complete six months within the company’s formulation sciences department and another six months within Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as part of their preregistration training.
Working with MSD the graduates will focus on a research project linked to an existing formulation development programme and will be supported by a team of mentors.
The Power of Taking Your Health Message Mobile
Brand managers and marketing leads are always striving to gain that first step of engagement, particularly in our world of pharmaceutical manufacturing. And with good reason. Customer engagement leads to improved understanding, which drives loyalty and ultimately improved health.
Tailor your talk
The development of online resources that resonate effectively with a patient readership is associated with very specific considerations and issues. Importantly, patients are increasingly wary of which sources of information to trust, particularly in terms of the accuracy of medical content on the internet.
Tailoring your communications to the needs of your audience demands a careful approach, based on thorough research at the outset and the verification and endorsement of content by respected authorities, such as patient-support organisations. While it is always advisable to consider these communications on a case-by-case basis, there are some general considerations that apply to the development of all online patient resources, which we take a closer look at here.
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