“(STAT News) Merck CEO Ken Frazier said” “Given the role of medicines in society and the ethics around medicine, my personal view is that pharma CEOs can’t’ take the attitude that they’re going to maximize financial outcomes.” Well said, sir.
Category Archive: Business of the drug industry
The purpose of any business is to make money, but can a corporation satisfy Wall Street and benefit the public it serves? Big oil, for example, has prioritized profits resulting in high gas prices. Medical expenses often hinder patients long after they have left the hospital. Why do prescription drugs need to cost so much?
A new drug has been found to reduce memory decline among patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s in a “historic breakthrough” in treating the disease. Results have been reported by Eisai, a Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company that has partnered with U.S. biotech firm Biogen to develop lecanemab. The question is will HCPs trust Biogen?
Research has said pharma had increased its digital spending because of the pandemic. That may be right, but I would suggest that 50% of that spending is wasted because pharma doesn’t have the resources to measure its digital marketing adequately.
Access to HCPs has declined steadily, with about 49 percent of Physicians in the U.S. placing restrictions on visits from pharma sales reps. But according to Fierce Pharma, “more than 8 in 10 (83%) of HCPs say the content they’re getting from pharma companies is more relevant now than before COVID-19, and they likely have more time to read it. Three-quarters said they’d seen fewer patients over the past year, and 61% said they have more available time than they did pre-pandemic”. You can launch a drug digitally but..
Democrats have been campaigning for 30 years on promises they’d let Medicare directly negotiate the cost of prescription drugs. Now, after the majority of voters want reduced costs for their prescription drugs, the bill seems ready to pass despite record pharma lobbying.
I’ve been working with various pharma and biotech companies with my consulting group for over ten years. Some things have changed, but a lot has not. Here’s what I have learned during that time.
If You’re Short On Time:
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s novel treatment for diabetes.
- The drug led to impressive blood sugar and body weight drops in clinical trials.
- The approval for tirzepatide—which Lilly will market under the brand name Mounjaro—isn’t for weight loss but Type 2 diabetes.
- Will patients, who are obese and don’t have Type 2 diabetes, ask for the drug for weight loss, and will patients understand the risks?