PHARMA NEWS, MULTICHANNEL & CROSSCHANNEL MAKETING

The biggest challenge facing pharma, and all healthcare for that matter, is the drive for increased profit at the expense of patients. Unless pharma acknowledges that they need to put patients first in everything they do, they are going to pay the price in increased calls for a “single payer” system.

Following Digital Pharma in social media I was reminded that there still are a lot of very good people in the industry who understand the challenge of marketing to patients today. However, like I wrote before, there is a disconnect between developing a strategy and actually implementing it.

When I see the salaries of pharma CEO’s and health insurance executives I am often troubled and confused. How could a health insurance CEO take home tens of millions of dollars in compensation when they raise rates for customers? How can a pharma CEO take home so much money knowing that there are some patients who can’t afford their medications?

DTC marketers know what they need to do to make their marketing relevant to their audience, but they often lack the budgets to make it happen. Everything is now based on ROI instead of asking “how can we help patients?”. Offering a medication to fight chronic health problems is not enough. Patients today need help from a healthcare system that treats them as a number not a person. They are left to fend for themselves when it comes to understanding how to live with health issues that affect their lives.

A new breed of pharma CEO is needed. Someone who can tell Wall Street that what we are doing to help patients will lead to better profits and someone who doesn’t ask for a compensation package that makes them a millionaire ten times over. Most importantly, we need CEO’s that allow the rank and file to implement programs that actually embrace patients based on their needs rather than a projected ROI.

According to a Merck survey of physicians, those who reported using a mobile device at work, 80 percent said they used the information found on apps and online information databases to inform their diagnosis or treatment plans for patients. Two-thirds are using mobile devices to catch up on medical news.

Merck recently re-launched app versions of its entire Merck Manuals reference guide, which is available in versions both for medical professionals and consumers.

"Physicians are becoming increasingly reliant on mobile technology to access relevant medical information when they need it most. That's why it was so important to us to launch our longstanding medical resources as free mobile apps for consumers and professionals this year," Merck Manuals Editor in Chief Dr. Robert S. Porter said in a statement. "Physicians can access thousands of medical topics, videos, images and other resources on the professional app and can direct their patients to the consumer app for trusted medical information."

As Porter indicated, mobile apps are changing the relationship between doctors and patients. While actual doctor-patient interaction time is still short, the time they do spend together is becoming more meaningful and efficient because of mobile devices. More than half of physicians surveyed said they are more likely to review medical information together, with their patients, and 29 percent of physicians said appointments are more efficient because of mobile medical information. About 60 percent of doctors are using mobile information to explain and further illustrate information to patients, and 28 percent said they send information directly to patients.

Of course, not all information is necessarily helpful: while 34 percent of physicians said patients are more informed and prepared, another third of physicians said patients arrive misinformed. This creates an opportunity for doctors and patients to have more interaction, Porter said.

"Mobile technology is not meant to replace the patient/doctor relationship," he said in a statement. "In fact, it can enhance the office visit by allowing them to review information together, as our survey found."

Merck is holding a global 'tweet-a-thon' as part of its activities for World MS Day, with today's initiative set to involve employees from over 20 countries.

Merck & Co will no longer file for approval of once-weekly diabetes drug omarigliptin in the US or Europe.

The company said in a statement that the decision did not relate to any safety or efficacy issues with the DPP-4 inhibitor, which might suggest it is not confident that the market is prepared to pay a premium for a weekly compared to a once-daily drug such as Merck's own Januvia (sitagliptin) product.

There are thought to be other issues with once-weekly administration of DPP-4 inhibitors. While they are intended to reduce the burden of taking pills by diabetics and improve compliance, patients can rarely benefit from drug-free days as those on DPP-4 inhibitors often also take metformin, which must be dosed every day.

Some clinicians argue that it is easier for patients to keep track of dosing two drugs side by side rather than mixing weekly and daily doses.