Category Archives: Business of the drug industry

What did pharma think was going to happen?

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KEY PONTIFICATION: The all front attack against pharma drug pricing is going to de very little to lower overall healthcare costs but politicians are not about providing REAL results, they are all about getting re-elected. Pharma companies largely ignored the gathering storm clouds and went about business as usual which is resulting in new restrictions that are going to limit innovation.

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Earning the trust of patients

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  • Edelman’s annual trust barometer research recorded an increase of 6 points in the U.S. that helped pharma reach a new rating score of 44.
  • The industry would need to reach 50 to get to neutral territory and to 60 to be considered trusted under the Edelman ratings.
  • Overall, trust in healthcare—which includes pharma, biotech and life sciences, hospitals and clinics, insurance and consumer health—increased by 8 points in the U.S. to reach 61.
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Some healthcare facts we all should know

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  • In a partisan political climate, leaders on both sides of the aisle have identified an urgent challenge: the price of prescription drugs. The average American pays approximately $1,200 a year for prescriptions – and that figure represents out-of-pocket costs alone.
  • Here are some facts and stats that sometimes get overlooked in the debate.
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Most people said they trust drug companies to come up with new and effective drugs

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  • Most people — 71% — said they trust drug companies to come up with new and effective drugs.
  • But 80% said industry profits are a major factor in high drug prices.
  • 75% said it’s easy to afford their prescriptions, and 45% said they pay less than $25 per month. Unsurprisingly, poorer people and those in worse health had a harder time covering their bills. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
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Why is pharma so addicted to growth?

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  • As sales of Merck & Co.’s immuno-oncology heavy hitter Keytruda soared 66% in the fourth quarter to $2.15 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations they were knocked because analysts want to know ‘what’s next”?
  • Pharma is obsessed with fighting and winning and dominating even if it means making bad business decisions.
  • The wisdom of setting business goals—always striving for bigger and better—is so established within pharma that it seems like the only thing left to debate is whether the goals are ambitious enough.
  • Pharma is suffering from ambition hyperinflation.
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Pharma still blaming drug middlemen for obscene prices

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  • Pharma, which used to cite the high cost of research, now say rebates within supply chain drive up prices.
  • Pharma says they don’t actually benefit much from list-price increases and that their net prices are suffering, because they are paying bigger rebates to pharmacy-benefit managers that negotiate prices in secret with their clients, such as employers and labor unions.
  • Drugmakers’ price increases are unrelated to the rebates, according to research commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a trade group for PBMs.
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Pharma is obsessed with dominating

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  • Companies that live in such a zero-sum world don’t “earn market share” from a competitor, they “conquer the market.” 
  • They don’t just serve their customers, they “capture” them and they don’t treat them like customers.
  • It’s easier to buy competitors than invest in R&D now.
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