Cognet-X, Inc.
Unveils Top 10 Prescription Products Promoted to Key Managed Care Audience;
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Glucovance No. 1
FEASTERVILLE---(April
30, 2001)---According to Cognet-X, Inc.’s PAR-Rx (Promotional Assessment
Research) Report™, the top 10 prescription medicines most heavily promoted to
managed care pharmacy directors during the first quarter of 2001 are as follows:
1. Glucovance
2. Prevacid
3. Celexa
3. Nexium
4. Allegra
4. Protonix
5. Baycol
6. Starlix
6. Advair Diskus
7. Celebrex
8. Vioxx
9. Aciphex
10. Zocor
Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co.’s oral antidiabetic agent Glucovance emerged as the prescription
medicine most heavily promoted to key managed care pharmacy directors during the
first quarter of 2001, Cognet-X, Inc. announced today.
According to
PAR-Rx Report results, Glucovance generated 26% more contacts to pharmacy
directors than did its nearest competitor, Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp.’s
newly launched Starlix. The Novartis product ranked sixth in contacts to these
influential managed care executives during the first 3 months of 2001.
PAR-Rx Report data
capture the differing promotional strategies that Bristol-Myers Squibb and
Novartis deployed during Starlix’s launch phase.
While
a majority of Glucovance and Starlix contacts focused on promotional messages
and formulary inclusion discussions, proposals for pull-through programs were
discussed at nearly 20% of Glucovance meetings. In fact, Glucovance received its
highest promotional contact assessment rating (4.20) for pull-through program
contacts. All ratings were on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 representing “poor” and
5 representing “excellent.”
By contrast,
panelists reported pull-through programs as the topic of only 8% of Starlix
meetings. Starlix’s highest rating (4.00) came for discussions of
disease/health management programs.
In addition to
oral antidiabetics, two other therapeutic categories generated the most
promotional activity during the first 3 months of 2001: proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)
and COX-2 inhibitors.
Four of the five
PPIs and both of the COX-2 inhibitors available on the U.S. market ranked in the
top 10, according to PAR-Rx Report findings.
TAP Pharmaceutical
Products, Inc.’s Prevacid was the second-most promoted product to PAR-Rx
Report panelists, edging out AstraZeneca LP’s new Nexium. Nexium, which
launched during the first quarter, shared third place with Forest Laboratores,
Inc.’s antidepressant, Celexa. American Home Products Corp.’s Protonix came
in fourth, tied with Aventis Pharmaceuticals’ antihistamine Allegra; Janssen
Pharmaceutica’s Aciphex ranked ninth.
“Drilling down
to the promotional contact assessment level, PAR-Rx Report data tell an
interesting story,” said Charles M. Maier, Director of Market Research
Analysis. “While a majority of first-quarter contacts for Prevacid, Nexium and
Aciphex focused on promotional or formulary related issues, only 34% of Protonix
contacts addresses these issues.
“However, 38% of
Protonix contacts focused on pull-through program discussions, including switch
programs,” Maier noted. Switch programs are designed to “switch” patients
from one product brand within a therapeutic category to another; pharmaceutical
companies usually offer pricing advantages for managed care plans to convert
patients or demonstrate how the plans can achieve a cost savings by converting
patients.
Pull-through
program discussions accounted for 27% of Aciphex contacts during the first 3
months of 2001, PAR-Rx Report data show. TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.
marketers deployed a different strategy for Prevacid. While 20% of Prevacid
contacts were for pull-through programs, another 24% of contacts were equally
split between discussions of contract terms and proposals for value-added
services.
Within the COX-2
class, Celebrex led Vioxx in discussions on promotional or formulary issues (65%
vs. 57% of contacts), but Vioxx’s discussions received a higher rating (4.10
vs. 3.50) than Celebrex’s. PAR-Rx Report panelists gave the highest rating for
Celebrex contacts—3.50—to contacts devoted to promotional or formulary
topics and to meetings on value-added services. Vioxx’s highest
rating—4.30—came for its contacts on pull-through programs.
“At Cognet-X, we
designed the PAR-Rx Report to provide the depth of data on managed care pharmacy
director promotion that clients told us they need and want. These are only a few
ways in which we can help clients understand—and act on—key market
dynamics,” Maier explained.
About the PAR-Rx Report
Cognet-X’s
PAR-Rx Report is a year-round service that provides the pharmaceutical industry
with real-time, Internet-based competitive intelligence on pharmaceutical
company promotion to influential managed care pharmacy directors.
The Report offers
Cognet-X clients the ability to evaluate and analyze variable differences that
are critically important to their decision-making process. The Report collects
comprehensive data that can be segmented and analyzed to provide clients with
“21st-Century solutions to their 21st-Century
challenges.”
About Cognet-X
Cognet-X offers
the pharmaceutical industry market research, consulting and software development
that help companies build and refine their relationships with numerous customer
bases, including the managed care community. Based in Bucks County,
Pennsylvania, Cognet-X is privately held and employee owned.
For more information on the PAR-Rx
Report or other cutting-edge Cognet-X products, please contact Robert E.
Houghton or Charles M. Maier at 1-866-cognetx (866-264-6389) or via e-mail at
robh@cognetx.com
or chuckm@cognetx.com.
