Pharmaceutical Market Research Research Articles

Impact of reimbursement program “Аffordable Medicines” on consumptiom of beta-blockers in Ukraine in 2017-2020

Abstract: the article presents the results of the study of impact of the reimbursement program “Affordable medicines” on consumption of beta-blockers in Ukraine, used for treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Analysis was conducted based on analytical data of Ukrainian pharmaceutical market research system “PharmXplorer” of the company “Proxima Research”, with current legislation taken into account. It was estimated, that in 2021, according to international non-proprietary name and 5th level of ATC classification - two non-selective beta-blockers: propanolol (ATC code С07АА05) and sotalol (С07АА07); six selective beta-blockers: metoprolol (С07АВ02), atenolol (С07АВ03), betaxolol (С07АВ05), bisoprolol (С07АВ07), esmolol (С07АВ09) and nebivolol (С07АВ12); and one beta-blocker from alpha and beta blocking agents group – carvedilol (C07GA02) are allowed for medical use in Ukraine. From the beginning, when reimbursement program “Affordable medicines” was implemented (April 1st, 2017), only 4 beta-blockers were included in the reimbursement list. Consumption patterns were analyzed in terms of defined daily dose, and it was estimated that bisoprolol was the leader among all beta-blockers in terms of consumption in period from 2016 to 2020. The findings show, that among beta-blockers, that were included in the reimbursement list, the major annual growth of consumption was detected for bisoprolol and carvedilol, although the growth of consumption of metoprolol and atenolol was noted only within the first year of functioning of the reimbursement program “Affordable medicines”, and beginning from 2018, the consumption of these two beta-blockers was declining annually. Among beta-blockers, that were not included in the reimbursement list, the increase in annual growth of consumption was spotted for nebivolol and sotalol. DDD/1000 inhabitants/day indicators were calculated for each beta-blocker. It was found, that throughout the years the biggest value of this indicator was for bisoprolol – 8,46 in 2016; 11,74 in 2017; 15,28 in 2018 ; 16,88 and 17,48 in 2019 and in 2020 respectfully. The growth of this indicator can give evidence about positive effect of the reimbursement program “Affordable medicines” on consumption of bisoprolol and its affordability for population in Ukraine in 2017-2020.

Monitoring of indicators of physical availibility and socio-economic affordability of metformin hydrochloride medicines

The aim of the study was to monitor the physical availability and socio-economic affordability of metformin hydrochloride medicines, which are used for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus.
 Materials and methods. Medical and technological documentation on the standardization of medical care for patients with type II diabetes, data from the State Register of Medicinal Products of Ukraine, software complex “Apteka” of the company “Morion” and data from the pharmaceutical market research analytical company “Pharmstandard” of the company “Morion” were used as research materials to determine indicators of physical availability and socio-economic affordability of metformin HCL medicines for the treatment of type II diabetes. Documentary, analytical methods, the method of marketing research and the method of logical summarization of data were used during the research.
 Results. According to the results of the analysis of the medical and technological documentation on the standardization of medical care for diabetes mellitus (DM) type II and the State Register of Medicines of Ukraine, a number of characteristics were formed for Metformin HCL pharmaceuticals, namely: tablets or film-coated tablets in a dose of 500 mg, which are manufactured: Ukrainian manufacturers (full cycle of production); Ukrainian manufacturers of tablets in bulk (primary and secondary packaging) and foreign manufacturers. The specified characteristics became the basis for the further selection of several metformin HCL medicines in terms of determining their indicators of physical availability and socio-economic affordability. When determining the physical availability of metformin HCL medications, it was established that Ukrainian-made pharmaceuticals (full production cycle) are presented in the wholesale chain of the pharmaceutical market in full. According to the socio-economic indicator of the solvency adequacy of payment capacity, among the metformin HCL pharmaceuticals, the most economically justified are the Ukrainian-made pharmaceuticals, which are made from tablets in bulk according to the full production cycle. Only 1 medicine was singled out among foreign-made ones, which has the lowest indicator of solvency adequacy for various categories of the population.
 Conclusions. Monitoring of indicators of physical availability and socio-economic affordability of metformin HCL medicines showed that the most economically justified for able-bodied people and people of retirement age is the use of the Ukrainian-made pharmaceuticals (full cycle and production from tablets in bulk) for the treatment of type II DM)

Practitioner Perspectives on Key Challenges in Pharmaceutical Marketing and Future Research Opportunities

This article offers marketing and public policy researchers and professionals a peek into pharmaceutical marketing from the practitioner's perspective. Through an interview process with eight active pharmaceutical marketing managers and medical doctors, the authors highlight some of the most pressing challenges facing pharmaceutical marketing practitioners today. They identify three key themes: (1) the need to overcome strongly rooted negative patient perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry, (2) the need to communicate overwhelming amounts of complicated information to patients and physicians, and (3) the need to break away from a stale promotional model. The authors briefly summarize the practitioners’ views on each topic, highlight relevant findings from marketing and public policy literatures, and offer avenues for future research to help address these challenges.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF CREATING NEW GINKGO BILOBA MEDICINES AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS BASED ON THE STUDY OF THE UKRAINIAN PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET

Formulation of the problem. In view of the socio-economic crisis in Ukraine, the process of introducing new medicines to the market, ensuring their availability for all segments of the population remains a rather important problem in the country’s health care system in today’s conditions. Recently, medicinal products and dietary supplements based on ginkgo biloba have been widely used in modern pharmacotherapy. This is due to the unique phytochemical composition, which includes a number of powerful antioxidants and other active substances. Analysis of recent research and publications. Comprehensive works on marketing research of the domestic pharmaceutical market on the example of medicines and dietary supplements based on dry Ginkgo biloba leaf extract in the directions outlined in this work have not been conducted. Today, the attention of scientists is largely focused on the use in medical practice and dietetics of products based on Ginkgo biloba leaf extract due to their natural origin and multi-vector range of pharmacotherapy. Despite the interest of scientists in the pharmacological properties of the extract from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba, there is almost no information about the feasibility of finding and developing new herbal remedies based on it. The above determined the expediency of the work, determined its purpose, tasks, structure and logical construction of the research sequence. Formulating the purpose of the article. The purpose of the work was to conduct marketing research of the domestic pharmaceutical market in the segment of drugs and dietary supplements based on dry Ginkgo biloba leaf extract to determine marketing opportunities for domestic practical pharmacy. The presentation of the main material. Ginkgo biloba is a natural source of biologically active compounds. A significant amount of terpene lactones and flavonglycosides in the composition of natural raw materials, which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and have a beneficial effect on the most important systems of the human body – the brain and blood circulation, as well as contribute to the normalization of metabolism, prevent premature aging of tissues, etc. The assortment of medicines and dietary supplements based on the extract of dry Ginkgo biloba leaves in the retail segment of the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine was analyzed. The main countries that export to the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market medicinal products and dietary supplements based on dry Ginkgo biloba leaf extract are the USA, Slovenia and Germany. Medicinal products and dietary supplements based on extract from dry Ginkgo biloba leaves are mostly presented on the domestic market in the form of capsules and tablets. The socio-economic availability of medicines and dietary supplements based on dry Ginkgo biloba leaf extract was determined based on the calculation of marketing indicators: the price liquidity ratio and the solvency adequacy ratio. The advantages and disadvantages of using certain extractants for obtaining dry Ginkgo biloba extract are given and substantiated. Given the resource efficiency, simplicity and reliability of the equipment used, the use of ethyl alcohol as an extractant is proposed. A brief description of the technological stages of production of Ginkgo biloba dry extract is proposed and given. Conclusions and prospects for further research. Providing all sections of the country’s population with affordable, effective and safe medicines is one of the priority and strategically important tasks of today’s pharmacy. The conducted marketing research of the pharmaceutical market in the segment of medicines and dietary supplements based on the extract of dry Ginkgo biloba leaves can be considered as a basis for the search and development of new effective phytoremedies of domestic production for the treatment of socially dangerous diseases.

MARKETING STUDY OF ORAL FORMS OF OMEPRAZOLE PREPARATIONS USED FOR THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE AND GASTRIC ULCER

Some of the most widespread illnesses of alimentary canal are the stomach (gastric) ulcer, duodenal ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux diseases. The ethanol of antisecretory treatment of the given acid-dependent diseases are the preparations of the proton pump inhibitor group with omeprazole which is considered to be more effective and investigated. The goal of the research is the oral medications omeprazole (20 mg) assortment market investigation. Materials and methods. The research objects are the State register of medicines data of oral medicinal products including omeprazole dosing 20 mg recorded on the pharmaceutical market as well as the State price register data on the vital medicinal products on April, 4, 2021. Results. According to the SRMP 30 trade names of medicinal products including omeprazole dosing 20 mg as active ingredient in capsules and tablets are registered on the pharmaceutical market in Russian Federation. The omeprazole products distribution in the countries holding registration certificates showed the predominance of domestic production medicinal products (18 trade names, 60 %). The cost analysis of standard daily and course dose oral omeprazole form (20 mg) of different trade names allowed to select economically profitable preparations (”Omeprazole”, LLC “Production of Medicines”, Russia; “Omeprazole”, OJSC ‘‘Synthesis”, Russia; “Omeprazole” LLC BFMP, Russia), the insert of which into the list of medicines to provide the gastroesophageal reflux disease and stomach (gastric) ulcer patients at the regional level is economically feasible as well the medicines with the high price (Losec MUPS AstraZeneca AB, Sweden). Сonclusion. The results of the pharmaceutical market research of oral omeprazole form (20mg) indicates a great majority of generic medicine, a sufficient market capacity, medicine predominance of domestic production (60%).

The study of the assortment and determination of volumes of consumption of antiretroviral drugs at the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market within 2017-2019

As of 2017, 77.3 million people were infected worldwide since the start of the epidemic, and 35.4 million deaths associated with HIV were recorded. Despite the introduction of a complex of preventive and anti-epidemic measures, Ukraine remains the second country in Eastern Europe and Central Asia by the indicator of the load rate (economic and social) of the HIV epidemic. As of the end of 2017, only 136.378 people (excluding children born to HIV-positive women, the HIV status of children had not been definitively determined) knew about their positive HIV status and were registered in healthcare institutions (HCI), in particular 64.7 % (88.270 people) received the antiretroviral therapy (ART).Aim. To study the assortment of drugs presented at the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine for ART (ATC-code J05A – Direct-acting antiviral agents) and analyze the consumption of this group of drugs in order to assess the completeness of the necessary therapy to patients. Drugs for ART (J05A group) presented at the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine were analyzed according to the “Pharmstandard” analytical system of the pharmaceutical market research of the “MORION” Company. To calculate the drug consumption for ART a unified ATC/DDD-methodology recommended by the WHO was used.Results and discussion. It has been found that the volumes of consumption of antiretroviral drugs (ARD) increase in 2017-2019. It has been determined that according to the WHO there are 52 international non-proprietary names (INNs) in the world that can be used to treat HIV/AIDS, among them 24 INNs are registered in Ukraine, and only 15 INNs are actively used in 2019.Conclusions. For the period under review from 2017 to 2019 the tendency to increase the consumption of drugs for ART has been determined. But the number of people with the confirmed HIV status who receive ART is much lower than the total number of people infected with HIV.

A relational database with pharmaceutical information: problems of creation and primary filling for provision of a qualitative statistical processing

The disclosure of pharmaceutical information is not intended to provide the possibility of further automated processing of the data provided by independent experts, and, accordingly, the choice of the methods of presentation is aimed to optimize visual perception by users.
 The aim of the work was to analyze in the internet-sources the availability of information in the appropriate format for automatic filling of the relational database. The subjects of the study were: ATC: ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases); content of EF 9.8; classification of dosage forms by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, FDA (Food and Drug Administration, USA), EMA (European Medicines Agency) and EphMRA (European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association). Methods used are review of information with the corresponding structure in the internet, processing of the information found using computer code.
 Approbation was carried out on the basis of the digital online system «Likypedia» (http://likypedia.zzz.com.ua; http://facebook.com/likypedia).
 The basic goals for the quality of the results of statistical processing of pharmaceutical information are formed. To achieve them, a list of required information for the initial download to the relational database is defined. The sources of the received information which was used for initial loading to the relational database are presented. The multicomponent record of pharmaceutical information is described.
 The list of dosage forms was formed on the basis of own practical experience, trends in the indication on packaging of medicines by manufacturers, electronic databases of pharmaceutical wholesalers, the titles of articles given in the EF 9.8 edition. Information from different sources about pharmaceutical dosage forms was analyzed and divided into five information blocks: made by manufacturer; its characteristic; for DF, which will be prepared with DF produced by the manufacturer; its characteristic; way of using DF.
 A variant has been developed and presented for structuring the information record of the drug dose in the relational database in several variants, which makes it possible to further carry out automated calculations, optimize the selection and sorting of data.

Analysis of general and pharmaceutical world and national marketing research

Analysis of general and pharmaceutical world and national marketing research

Marketing research of the Pharmaceutical market in Ukraine: Peculiarities, Trends, Problems, Tendencies

Marketing research of the pharmaceutical market is the basis of any company's market activity, aimed at raising level of awareness and efficiency not only of individual marketing staff performance, but also senior management of company. The aim of this work is systematization and comprehensive exploration of the marketing research market in pharmacy in Ukraine. The objectives were to isolate the features of marketing research in pharmacy, identify current problems of researchers, analyze the activities of companies that specialize in marketing research in the pharmaceutical market, identify the main directions of research and development trends. For this purpose, the data of the Ukrainian Marketing Association, companies ’websites, that carry out research on sectors of health protection, medicine, and pharmacy, has been analyzed. Companies are divided into two categories: those that specialize in pharmaceutical market research, and those with separate units where research of the pharmaceutical market is not the only area of activity. Also, companies could be divided by providing of quantitative research (assortment groups, prescription and non-prescription drugs, analysis of budget purchases in hospital segment, analysis of brands, analysis of companies market share, goods, manufacturers, wholesale and retail segment, etc.). and those who carry out qualitative market research (consumers, competitors, advertisements, activities, etc.). Results of studies allowed us to conclude that 11 companies are investigating the pharmaceutical market Ukraine, 5 of them specialize in pharmacy research. Main areas of research are related to market analytics, quantitative indicators, market players ’market analysis.

Marketing research of pharmaceutical market for the treatment of hepatobiliary system with a perspective design of plant­based medicinal product

In recent years, worldwide there is a clear tendency of increasing the number of hepatobiliary diseases (DHBS). According to the data of research of the local pharmaceutical market for the treatment of liver and gallbladder diseases it was revealed that Ukrainian producers represent 34 % of the analyzed medicines. The most group represented consists of mono- and combined phytopreparations – 47 %. Among the plants that exhibit hepatoprotective, choleretic activity, the most common are artichoke (Cynara), Silybum marianum, Helichrysum arenarium. The ranking of the foreign countries which supply medicines of analyzed group to Ukrainian pharmaceutical market has revealed that the leaders in regards with medicines represented are the following: India (15 %), Germany (13 %) and Russian Federation (8 %). Among pharmaceutical forms the most represented are capsules (28 %), tablets (25%) and injection solutions (13 %). Such dosage form as a syrup is represented by the only drug that indicates the relevance of developing original medicine with combined effect.

Psychotropic Drug Consumption Among Older People Enrolled in a French Private Health Insurance Plan.

BackgroundIn France, little information exists on psychotropic drug consumption in the elderly.ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe the patterns of psychotropic drug consumption, including the extent of inappropriate prescribing, in elderly subjects enrolled in a large health insurance plan in France (MGEN).MethodsIn 2011, 5840 MGEN affiliates aged at least 65 years were randomly selected. Reimbursement claims were organized into a 1-year cross-sectional data set. The EphMRA (European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association) classification was used to identify prescriptions of psychotropic drugs, and the Laroche criteria to identify potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). Treatment duration was estimated using WHO defined daily doses (DDDs). A multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the prescription of PIMs.ResultsIn 2011, 2213 subjects (37.9 %) made at least one reimbursement claim for a psychotropic drug, with the claims rate increasing with age. The mean annual volume of prescriptions per user was 193 DDDs. General practitioners were found to generate most of these prescriptions (81.8 %). Of these 2213 users, only 137 (6.2 %) had consulted a mental health specialist, and this rate decreased with age. Moreover, 1428 (64.5 %) subjects were prescribed at least one PIM, rising to 1711 (77.3 %) when including concomitant use of psychotropic drugs. Finally, the number of psychotropic drugs prescribed was associated with a higher odds ratio (OR) of PIM prescription.ConclusionsEfforts should be made to reduce psychotropic drug prescriptions in elderly patients. This may contribute to reduce the amount of PIM prescriptions and the occurrence of iatrogenic side effects.

Psychotropic medication use in French children and adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to describe the patterns of psychotropic drug use in a large representative population of children and adolescents drawn from the French National Health Insurance databank. Data were drawn from a sample of 1% of the beneficiaries of the French national health insurance, selecting those 0-17 years old in 2010 (n=128,298). In addition to age and gender, data included the identification number of each drug allowing a European Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Association (EphMRA) classification, as well as the type of the prescriber. Overall, 2.5% of children and adolescents had been prescribed psychotropic medication. A majority were prescribed anxiolytics (1.9%), followed by antidepressants (0.3%), antipsychotics (0.3%), and stimulants (0.2%). Between the ages of 15 and 17, 6.1% of girls were prescribed anxiolytics and 1.1% were prescribed antidepressants. For boys, the anxiolytics remained the most prescribed psychotropic medication; however, between the ages of 11 and 14, and between the ages of 15 and 17 they received more antipsychotics (0.7% and 0.8%) and between the ages of 6 and 10, and between the ages of 11 and 14 (0.7% and 0.6%), they were prescribed more stimulants than were girls. Among those who received a prescription, a majority of youth (84.6%) received only one class of drugs, and general practitioners were found to be prescribing most of these prescriptions (81.7%). The prevalence of psychotropic drug use in France is similar to that of the Netherlands and much lower than what is observed in the United States. Stimulants are less frequently prescribed in France than in other European countries, but anxiolytics are prescribed considerably more in France than in any other country.

Effect of the economic recession on pharmaceutical policy and medicine sales in eight European countries

ObjectiveTo identify pharmaceutical policy changes during the economic recession in eight European countries and to determine whether policy measures resulted in lower sales of, and less expenditure on, pharmaceuticals.MethodsInformation on pharmaceutical policy changes between 2008 and 2011 in eight European countries was obtained from publications and pharmaceutical policy databases. Data on the volume and value of the quarterly sales of products between 2006 and 2011 in the 10 highest-selling therapeutic classes in each country were obtained from a pharmaceutical market research database. We compared these indicators in economically stable countries; Austria, Estonia and Finland, to those in economically less stable countries, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.FindingsEconomically stable countries implemented two to seven policy changes each, whereas less stable countries implemented 10 to 22 each. Of the 88 policy changes identified, 33 occurred in 2010 and 40 in 2011. They involved changing out-of-pocket payments for patients in 16 cases, price mark-up schemes in 13 and price cuts in 11. Sales volumes increased moderately in all countries except Greece and Portugal, which experienced slight declines after 2009. Sales values decreased in both groups of countries, but fell more in less stable countries.ConclusionLess economically stable countries implemented more pharmaceutical policy changes during the recession than economically stable countries. Unexpectedly, pharmaceutical sales volumes increased in almost all countries, whereas sales values declined, especially in less stable countries.

Slowdown Grips on Pharma Market – An Empirical Study

The Indian pharma industry, while being on a roll due to the higher export realisations due to the weaker rupee, has suffered badly in the domestic market. According to the latest data released by market research firm AIOCD AWACS (a pharmaceutical market research company), the domestic pharma market grew by mere 1.1% for the month of August 2012, which is a record low for the industry. The last low growth experienced in the market was recorded in November 2012 at 4.3%. One of the major reasons for the slowdown seems to be the de-stocking done by the trade and companies due to the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the new drug pricing control order (DPCO). This is evident from the fact that according to the data, the growth of the DPCO portfolio of products dropped by 12.3% whereas the non-DPCO product market grew by 3.3% resulting in an overall growth of 1.1% for the month of August 2013. This paper highlights the issues and challenges faced by the Indian Pharma industries in context to DPCO.

Trends in osteoporosis treatment with oral and intravenous bisphosphonates in the United States, 2002–2012

Bisphosphonates have been widely prescribed to postmenopausal women for treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Given a background of reports of recent safety problems, questions about optimal duration of use, and the patent expiration of Fosamax in February 2008, we accessed data from pharmaceutical marketing research databases to describe trends in dispensed prescriptions and sales of oral bisphosphonates, characteristics of patients and prescribers, and sales of intravenous bisphosphonates for osteoporosis treatment.An estimated 21.3million prescriptions for oral bisphosphonates were dispensed in U.S. retail pharmacies in 2002 that increased 46% to a peak of 31.0million in 2007 and 2008, and declined by 53% in a four year-period to 14.7million in 2012. Sales data (number of packages sold in all settings of care) showed parallel trends (66% increase from 2002 through 2007 and 51% decrease from 2007 through 2012). Similarly, intravenous bisphosphonate sales for osteoporosis treatment grew 3.8-fold from 149.5 thousand packages in 2007 to 561.6 thousand in 2010, followed by a 22% decrease in 2012.Data from an ongoing monthly office-based survey indicated physicians mentioned oral bisphosphonates primarily in visits of older aged Caucasian women with lower body mass for osteoporosis. Frequencies of oral bisphosphonate mentions increased between 2002 and 2012 in visits of Asians and for osteopenia diagnoses.These data indicate a substantial decline in prescriptions and sales of oral (since 2007–2008) and intravenous (since 2010) bisphosphonates for osteoporosis treatment in the United States. Reasons for, and implications of, the decline should be considered for future research.

Increase in Psychotropic Drug Deliveries after the Xynthia Storm, France, 2010

During the night of February 27 and the early morning of February 28, 2010, 15 coastal municipalities situated in two French departments, Vendée and Charente-Maritime, were violently stricken by a severe windstorm named "Xynthia." This storm caused the death of 12 individuals in Charente-Maritime and 29 people in Vendée. Houses, agricultural fields, and shellfish companies were severely flooded with seawater. Several thousand people temporarily had to leave their homes. The objective of this study was to estimate the short-term mental health impact of Xynthia, in terms of psychotropic drug delivery, on the resident population of the 15 coastal municipalities severely hit by the flooding. The French national health insurance database was used to calculate a daily number of new psychotropic treatments from September 1, 2008 through December 24, 2010. New treatments were calculated for each of the following European Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Association (EphMRA) classes: tranquilizers (N05C), hypnotics (N05B), and antidepressants (N06A). A period of three weeks following the storm was defined as the exposure period. A generalized additive model with a Poisson distribution that allows for over-dispersion was used to analyze the correlation between the Xynthia variable and the number of new psychotropic treatments. With a relative risk (RR) of 1.54 (95% CI, 1.39-1.62) corresponding to an estimate of 409 new deliveries of psychotropic drugs during the three weeks following the storm, this study confirms the importance of the psychological impact of Xynthia. This impact is seen on all three classes of psychotropic drugs studied. The impact is greater for tranquilizers (RR of 1.78; 95% CI, 1.59-1.89) than for hypnotics (RR of 1.53; 95% CI, 1.31-1.67) and antidepressants (RR of 1.26; 95% CI, 1.06-1.40). The RR was higher for females than for males. This study shows the importance of the psychological impact of the storm as observed clinically by health workers who intervened in the field during the aftermath of Xynthia. It confirms that administrative databases can be used to show a health impact of a disaster even at a local level. This is one more step in the direction of a comprehensive strategy of collecting information to allow the assessment of the health impact of an extreme event, the detection of vulnerable populations, and the orientation of the short-, mid- and long-term public health response.

Healthcare market research examined. Relevant, rigorous and highly regulated

[The abstract of this article is not available. Here are the first sentences of the article. The full text is freely available upon registration]Market research is invariably confused with marketing – but, in fact, the two disciplines are very different. Put in its simplest terms, marketing is about promotion whilst market research is about understanding. Accordingly, data collected for market research purposes are used in a completely different way to that gathered for marketing, with research practices heavily regulated to ensure high ethical standards.Let’s begin with a definition of what, exactly, market research is. According to the ICC/ESOMAR International Code 2007 (a definition also adopted by the European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association), it is: «the systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or organisations using the statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision-making. The identity of respondents will not be revealed to the user of the information without explicit consent and no sales approach will be made to them as a direct result of their having provided information».

Healthcare market research examined. Relevant, rigorous and highly regulated

[The abstract of this article is not available. Here are the first sentences of the article. The full text is freely available upon registration]Market research is invariably confused with marketing – but, in fact, the two disciplines are very different. Put in its simplest terms, marketing is about promotion whilst market research is about understanding. Accordingly, data collected for market research purposes are used in a completely different way to that gathered for marketing, with research practices heavily regulated to ensure high ethical standards.Let’s begin with a definition of what, exactly, market research is. According to the ICC/ESOMAR International Code 2007 (a definition also adopted by the European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association), it is: «the systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or organisations using the statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision-making. The identity of respondents will not be revealed to the user of the information without explicit consent and no sales approach will be made to them as a direct result of their having provided information».

Prescriber Profiling

Letters1 January 2008Prescriber ProfilingStephen E. Pratt, MDStephen E. Pratt, MDFrom Oak Tree Internal Medicine, San Ramon, CA 94583.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-148-1-200801010-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:I agree with Grande's sentiment (1), but I find the line of reasoning to be something of a non sequitur.Grande is advocating that physicians discontinue participation in pharmaceutical market research and that the sale of physician prescribing data should end. This would be in order to “roll back the influences of commercial marketing practices on clinical decisions.”Whereas these actions may be desirable for other reasons, neither would address the primary issue of the influence of commercial promotion on prescriber decision making. We could enact these changes tomorrow, and drug manufacturers would continue to advertise their ...Reference1. Grande D. Prescriber profiling: time to call it quits [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:751-2. [PMID: 17502637] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Oak Tree Internal Medicine, San Ramon, CA 94583.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPharmaceutical Marketing Research and the Prescribing Physician Jeremy A. Greene Prescriber Profiling: Time to Call It Quits David Grande Prescriber Profiling Stephen M. Kirk Prescriber Profiling Adriane Fugh-Berman Prescriber Profiling Alexander C. Tsai Metrics 1 January 2008Volume 148, Issue 1Page: 81-82KeywordsConflicts of interestDecision makingDrug informationDrug regulationDrug research and developmentDrugsMedical educationReasoning ePublished: 1 January 2008 Issue Published: 1 January 2008 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2008 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

Wiley Handbook of Current and Emerging Drug Therapies

Eight Volumes in Search of an Author? This massive set of tomes (also available online) presents something of a mystery: without preface or foreword it plunges straight in with a short and thoughtful chapter by Hugo Kubinyi on ‘The drug discovery process’, followed by an excellent overview of ‘Clinical trials’ by Curtis Meinert. Thereafter chapters are anonymous, and no author with overall responsibility is identified. Who can have written it? If I were a proper sleuth I could have worked this out, but in the event the editorial director (Sean Pidgeon) courteously pointed me in the right direction by explaining that the material in the handbook was put together by a team at Decision Resources, Inc., a long-established pharmaceutical market research organization based near Boston. A search (entering chapter titles into the site's search facility) at http://www.dresources.com/ reveals that chapters are based closely on commercially available reports prepared by this organization. Some authors are identifiable and include MBA and PhDs, so the main target audience is probably research managers in the pharmaceutical industry and business analysts and venture capitalists. The text is divided into parts, each containing one or more chapters arranged alphabetically. Some parts are split between different volumes. Most chapters (volumes 1–3 and 5–7) deal with various systemic or organ-based specialties: oncology; immune system; metabolic diseases; infectious diseases; central nervous system; ophthalmologic; cardiology; genito-urinary; pain; respiratory; gastrointestinal. The alphabetical arrangement is tiresome: a chapter on ‘Diabetic retinopathy’ (in the part on ‘Metabolic diseases’) comes five chapters before that on ‘Type 1 diabetes’ for example. There are other problems with organization: ‘Acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis’ appears in the part on ‘Infectious disease’ in volume 3 while ‘Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease’ is the (only) chapter in the part on ‘Respiratory’ in volume 7, for example. Each of these disease-orientated chapters is structured to address aetiology and pathophysiology, current therapies and emerging therapies. The aetiology/pathophysiology sections are mainly too simplistic for a clinical reader, the illustrations being particularly disappointing (barely appropriate level for a GCSE level biology student, with inaccuracies). By contrast the sections on current therapies and on emerging therapies are detailed and the material would be of considerable interest to clinical pharmacologists if intellectual responsibility for it was transparent and the methods of data selection and analysis made explicit. The ‘emerging therapies’ sections might also be of interest to NHS analysts seeking to identify potential future cost pressures arising from new therapies, but this would require a very rigorous system of ongoing updating of the online version. Volumes 4 and 8 differ from the disease-orientated approach. They are devoted to a wide range of general topics, with a mouth-watering array of titles including: ‘Biodefense opportunities in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries’; ‘Fear of theranostics: why an industry has not really emerged’; ‘Beyond commodity drugs: strategic diversification in the generics industry’ (in a part on ‘Emerging technologies and business opportunities’); ‘Overview of the world’s major OTC markets'; ‘Taking global action: integrating social responsibility into corporate practices’; ‘Prying open the pipeline: drug discovery and development in the postgenomics era’; ‘Nanotechnology for drug discovery and drug design’; ‘Sleep disorders: promotion and awareness will drive market growth’– to mention but a few. I may dip into these in future, but will not be investing the time and effort of a sustained read because of the lack of transparent intellectual provenance. I could not recommend the work to academic colleagues for the same reason. There is also the minor issue of cost: the list price of the online version is £743.24. (This may, of course, be a snip compared with the cost of the original reports on which the chapters are based).