Cognet-X Inc.: Prilosec OTC Garners The Procter & Gamble Co. Top Place in Pull-Through, Managed Care Executives Report.

FEASTERVILLE, Pa. -- The Procter & Gamble Co. emerged as the corporation that best met the needs of managed care pharmacy directors in pull-through programs during the first quarter of 2004, Cognet-X Inc. reported today.

For the first time in the history of Cognet-X Inc.'s PAR-Rx (Promotional Assessment Research) Report(TM), a non-prescription product was primarily responsible for a company ranking first in the Pull-through Programs assessment category. Most of the PAR-Rx panelists who ranked P&G first said the company's pull-through efforts with Prilosec OTC drove their ranking decision.

The Pull-through Programs category is one of several Corporate Assessment categories in the PAR-Rx Report. Points are accrued through Cognet-X's proprietary Scale of Influence model. Cognet-X PAR-Rx panelists participate in Corporate Assessment rankings twice each year.

Pull-through programs are pharmaceutical company initiatives designed to increase the market share of specific products while reducing pharmaceutical expenditures for managed care organizations.

PAR-Rx panelists ranked P&G seventh in the last assessment cycle during 3Q 2003. Interestingly, the majority of P&G's "Best" rankings in the Pull-through Programs category originated with panelists whose organizations are mid- to large-size managed care organizations and pharmacy benefit management companies. For these plans, most of which have upwards of 500,000 covered lives, successful pull-through programs in a major therapeutic category such as the proton pump inhibitor class, can have a significant impact on their pharmacy costs.

"We partnered with Procter & Gamble for a Prilosec OTC coupon mailing, which helped in reducing overall PPI spending," one PAR-Rx panelist told Cognet-X.

Sankyo Co. Ltd. ranked in second place during the 1Q reporting period, up from fifth place. Sankyo markets the antihypertensive Benicar, with co-promotional partner Forest Laboratories Inc.

"(Sankyo) has been eager to work with us to convey our organization's message to physicians," one respondent said. Another noted: "Sankyo has maintain a regular effort to position Benicar appropriately with our physicians."

"These rankings show that it doesn't necessarily take a company with a sizable field force or managed care account staff to execute pull-through initiatives that succeed," noted Cognet-X Chief Strategist, Bryna Elder-Munro. "It takes a strong corporate commitment to pull-through and to partner with a managed care organization as well as a well-thought out strategy. Ideally, it flows throughout the organization from there. And, clearly, P&G's and Sankyo/Forest's strategies resonated with our panelists."

Also ranking in the top 5 corporations in this category were two marketers of prescription PPIs: Wyeth (Protonix) in fourth place and AstraZeneca PLC (Nexium, Prilosec) in fifth place.

The top 10 pharmaceutical corporations in the Pull-through Programs category for 1Q 2004 were:

1) The Procter & Gamble Co.

2) Sankyo Co. Ltd.

3) Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.

4) Wyeth

5) AstraZeneca PLC

6) Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.

7) Pfizer Inc.

8) GlaxoSmithKline

9) Forest Laboratories Inc.

10) Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals

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 Cognet-X products such as the MHCProfiles Web-based database and Formulary Module, please contact Rick Bourland (ext. 103) at [phone] or [e-mail] or Alex Harpe (ext. 161) or [e-mail].