AstraZeneca and Pfizer Battle to Protect Vital Managed Care Access for Blockbuster Cholesterol Reducers--Promotion Trails For Merck/Schering-Plough's Vytorin, Cognet-X Reports.FEASTERVILLE, Pa. -- Standing their ground against market share intrusion from two new generic statins Statins A class of drugs commonly used to lower LDL cholesterol levels. Mentioned in: C-Reactive Protein , AstraZeneca's Crestor and Pfizer's Lipitor were among the top 2 most-promoted products to key managed care pharmacy executives during 3Q 06, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Cognet-X PAR-Rx (Promotional Assessment Research) Report[TM]. The PAR-Rx audit panel is comprised of decision-makers with the ability to influence how prescription drugs prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, are covered and reimbursed for millions of Americans insured by a health plan. Though Merck/Schering-Plough's Vytorin was among the top 3 products promoted to panelists in the previous quarter, the brand was out-promoted 2 to 1 by Crestor and Lipitor during the current period. By year's end the new generic statins will be available from multiple sources, making them even more attractive to insurers as lower-cost alternatives to the three leading branded cholesterol agents. For AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Merck/Schering-Plough, maintaining preferred status on health plan formularies is critical to each brand's overall success. In its third-quarter promotional discussions for Crestor, AstraZeneca offered competitive pricing in a bid to secure favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. formulary formulary /for·mu·lary/ (for´mu-lar?e) a collection of recipes, formulas, and prescriptions. National Formulary see under N. for·mu·lar·y n. status. Panelists' comments also revealed how generic competition is impacting Crestor and its branded competitors: "[The price discussed] would make it 10% better than Lipitor" "AZ presented statin stat·in n. Any of a class of drugs that inhibit a key enzyme involved in the synthesis of cholesterol and promote receptor binding of LDL cholesterol, resulting in decreased levels of serum cholesterol. market analysis as a result of generic Zocor availability. Discussed pending class reviewC*and potential to select only one brand high-potency product." "[Crestor] currently has a step therapy on formulary (generic trial first)." Pfizer aggressively contracted for Lipitor during the third quarter, receiving a mixed response from PAR-Rx panelists: "Discussed their proposed contractC*We reviewed the terms and told them to change the agreement or no deal. They want no prior authorization prior authorization, n See predetermination. prior authorization Health insurance A cost containment measure that provides full payment of health benefits only if the hospitalization or medical treatment has been , [no] step therapy, [no] co-pay higher than $25, in order for [our health plan] to receive rebatesC*" "Will no longer rebate for Lipitor if we don't put Vytorin on 3rd tier." "Changing from preferred status to non-preferred." Rounding out the top 5 products promoted to the PAR-Rx panel in 3Q 06 were: 1. Exubera (Pfizer) 2. Crestor (AstraZeneca) (tie) 2. Lipitor (Pfizer) (tie) 3. Lexapro (Forest Laboratories) 4. Procrit (Johnson & Johnson) 5. Diovan (Novartis) About the PAR-Rx Report[TM] Cognet-X's PAR-Rx Report is a quarterly service that provides pharmaceutical, biotech bi·o·tech n. Informal Biotechnology. biotech Noun short for biotechnology Noun 1. and Wall Street clients with timely, actionable Giving sufficient legal grounds for a lawsuit; giving rise to a Cause of Action. An act, event, or occurrence is said to be actionable when there are legal grounds for basing a lawsuit on it. competitive intelligence and analysis related to pharmaceutical/biotech company promotion to influential managed care pharmacy executives. About Cognet-X Inc. Cognet-X is a privately held, employee-owned healthcare research, consulting and software development firm based in Bucks County, PA. Our focus is on providing and developing business intelligence solutions centered on the managed care marketplace for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies Top 100 Biotechnology Companies The following is a list of the top 100 biotechnology companies ranked by revenue. The first nine companies qualify for the list of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies. . For more information about the PAR-Rx Report[TM] or other Cognet-X products and services, please contact: Rick Bourland Sharon Bender Executive Director, Executive Director, Sales & Marketing Strategic Initiatives 215-396-8300, ext. 103 215-396-8300, ext. 148 rickb@cognetx.com sharonb@cognetx.com |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion