Daily Research News Online no. 2897 - Oncologists' Views of Pharma Companies

Oncologists' Views of Pharma Companies

February 3 2004

TNS Healthcare has announced results from its 'Power of Image' study, entitled Oncologists: An Assessment of Pharmaceutical Company Image in the United States and Europe.

Rather than relying solely on the influence of a company's sales representatives, TNS Healthcare uses oncologists' own perceptions and emotional responses to measure the image of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The recently completed European study, similar in scope to the landmark US report issued in July 2003, reveals the attributes within product, sales and corporate activities that oncologists have identified as critical to formulating their image of companies across five major European markets. The following companies excelled in company image:

Top 5 oncology companies in each Country
United States	UK	France	Germany	Italy	Spain
Aventis	AstraZeneca	Aventis	Roche	Roche	BMS
AstraZeneca	Roche	AstraZeneca	Aventis	Aventis	AstraZeneca
Amgen	Aventis	Roche	Amgen	Novartis	Aventis
Novartis	Lilly	Lilly	Novartis	AstraZeneca	Roche
Genentech	Pharmacia (1)	BMS	Sanofi	Sanofi	Lilly

(1) Research was undertaken before the merger between Pharmacia and Pfizer was completed.

The market is rapidly evolving due to high levels of unmet clinical needs, off-label drug use, and often unsatisfactory patient outcomes. According to Larry Levin, Executive Vice President of TNS Healthcare and head of its Global Strategic Products Group: 'To establish credibility with oncologists, pharmaceutical companies need to make an emotional connection with them. Oncologists don't want the hard sell from pharmaceutical companies; they want to feel compassion, concern, and empathy when they interact with sales representatives'. As one oncologist stated, 'One of the problems with companies today is they don't realise that they're really allies in the fight'.

Smaller companies rank highly in individual countries - such as Celgene in the US, Dompe in Italy, Pierre Fabre in France, and Medac-Schering in Germany. Development and licensing collaborations also influence company image.

Image is heavily influenced by perceptions of the reliability of clinical trials, information and company reps. Among the best ratings in specific countries were:

Roche for dependable clinical trials, among German oncologists
AstraZeneca for R&D, in Spain, and Amgen in the US
Novartis reps, in Italy and Aventis reps in the UK for accurate data.

Oncologists are highly aware of product brand names, the companies behind them, and of products in the pipeline. Over half the oncologists in each country named AstraZeneca's Iressa(tm) as one of the most important upcoming pipeline products, and almost as many cited ImClone's Erbitux(tm). Up to 85% knew that AstraZeneca is the company developing Iressa(tm).

The report discusses important differences in image and attribute performance across the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Global and individual country reports are available now, and a Japanese country report will be added in 2004.

Over 700 oncologists participated in the qualitative and quantitative phases, evaluating 41 different companies on 30 different attributes related to sales representatives, marketing communications, product portfolio, research and development, and corporate activities. TNS' web site is at www.tns-global.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.