Pharma Reform

The pharmaceutical industry has created market perceptions, right or wrong, that have been transformed into market expectations.   Like for any business meeting market expectations is a critical success factor for the pharmaceutical industry.  There are however, some expectations that are ill founded and meeting these unreasonable expectations could mean financial disaster to pharmaceutical companies.

Reasonable market expectations are best addressed by the consistent actions and behaviors of the company over time.  Unreasonable market expectations, on the other hand, require understanding of the source, empathy, patience, and clear consistent communications to help the market better understand why some of their expectations are not practical or not in the best interest of patients.

The industry must effectively demonstrate that they are delivering on the reasonable expectations, before the market will be ready to accept explanations for why the unreasonable expectations can not or should not be met.  So what expectations are reasonable and which ones might be considered unreasonable?

Reasonable market expectations of pharmaceutical companies:

• To bring safe and effective innovative new drugs to the market at fair prices
• To not have to pay premium prices for products which can not be clinically differentiated in a meaningful way that matters (comparative value)
• To moderate pricing based on substantiation of the pricing rationale with data and clinical information that demonstrate the value of the drug treatment
• To make certain physicians and patients understand the risks associated with product use. Never putting patients at undue risk for the sake of selling more products.
• To assure regulatory compliance in development, manufacturing, and commercialization (marketing and sales). Respect that prescription drug regulations are intended to protect patients from undue harm.
• To act with integrity in support of legal and ethical business practices
• To be transparent in financial support of societies, patient advocacy groups, and other information sources so as to not secure deceptive implied endorsements for products
• To be forthcoming and take decisive action to protect patients when concerns for safety arise, even if it means a temporary negative impact on sales
• To hold executives accountable for their organizations actions and behaviors

Unreasonable market expectations:

• To sell innovative new products at generic drug prices
• To operate pharmaceutical companies as “non-profit” organizations
• To not advertise or promote products for appropriate uses
• To rely on medical school and professional society medical education programs to educate physicians about drug treatment, especially new products
• To execute clinical studies or access clinical expertise without paying investigators, advisors, and consultants reasonable fees (absolute “conflict- of- interest”  free)
• To develop treatments for small patient populations and not charge prices which allow for a profitable return of investment
• To blindly write checks for product liability claims when the risks have been clearly delineated in product information, advertising, and promotion.

Doing a good job of meeting the reasonable expectations will mitigate the importance of and insistence on many of the unreasonable expectations in the evolving new healthcare market.

mike@pharmareform.com