Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14512

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

To Today's Drug Reps, Docs Just Say No
PharmaLive 2008 Oct 24
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=580037&categoryid=9&newsletter=1

Full text:

Wanting more clinical information and greater value for their time, doctors are closing their doors to drug sales reps

NEW YORK, October 24, 2008 – Contrary to popular belief, physicians are genuinely skeptical of drug sales reps, and are unwilling or unable to meet with them for more than a minute. That’s one of the conclusions from a year-long analysis by Oliver Wyman of sales and marketing operations of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms – research that enabled the development of a detailed Go-To-Market Model for life sciences companies.

Only 56% of physicians are willing to meet with drug sales reps and only 24% of docs want to spend more than two minutes with a rep, Oliver Wyman’s recent survey and research found. Fully 86% of physicians believe that the information sales reps share is, at best, biased and not completely factual.

“Physicians don’t like the hard sell,” states Jim Hall a Partner in Oliver Wyman’s Health and Life Sciences Practice. “They are looking for unbiased data that explains efficacy, outcomes, and patient value.”

In order to improve the relationship and trust with physicians, pharmaceutical companies must be willing to share better clinical data, Quality-adjusted life years (QALY) information, and unbiased comparative information.

The research is summarized in the report, “A Prescription for Change: The Future Go-To-Market Model for the Pharmaceutical Industry,” and outlines these and other critical elements that will form the future foundation of effective pharmaceutical sales and marketing practices for life science companies.

For more information on this research please contact Jim Hall at jim.hall@oliverwyman.com or Mark Mozeson at mark.mozeson@oliverwyman.com

With more than 2,900 professionals in over 40 cities around the globe, Oliver Wyman is an international management consulting firm that combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, organizational transformation, and leadership development. The firm helps clients optimize their businesses, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is part of Marsh & McLennan Companies [NYSE: MMC]. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com.

Oliver Wyman’s Health and Life Science’s practice serves clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices and payer sectors with strategic, operational, and organizational advice. Deep healthcare knowledge and capabilities allow the practice to deliver fact-based solutions.