The Physician - Pharma Relationship

 Is very old and very close  But are the goals of pharmaceutical companies and medicine the same?

 Detailing  Meetings and events (dinner meetings, rounds, symposia)  Advertising and reprints  Direct mail

 1 minute of a sales reps interaction with a doctor results in a 16% prescribing change  3 minutes with a doctor results in a 52% prescribing change

Why docs like samples  Start treatment immediately  Test tolerance to a new drug  Reduce the total cost of a Rx  Provide free medication to those who can’t afford it

Why drug companies like samples  Increases “new starts” on a new drug  Encourages switches from other drugs  Patients usually stay on the sampled drug  Increases prescriptions of the most expensive, most promoted drugs

 Gain access to physicians  Habituate physicians to prescribing targeted drugs  Increase goodwill by enabling doctors to give gifts to patients  Serve as unacknowledged gifts to physicians and staff The real purpose of samples

Samples are a marketing tool  “…the manufacturer needs to figure out the right amount of samples the rep has to drop off in order to maximize the number of paid prescriptions written.”

Meetings and events  “Nearly 30 percent of physicians who attend association meetings refuse to see reps in their office…a no-see strategy is critical for companies to overcome”

 More than 95% of JAMA ads are for Rx drugs  5 of 6 physician organizations raised at least 10% of annual revenue from ads in affiliated medical journals  Pharma companies also purchase “sponsored” subscriptions  And are the largest purchaser of reprints

 Detail only 21%  Detail and print [ads] 36%  Detail and sales aid 33%  Detail and print and sales aid 44% Correct message retention by media mix

 Pharma spends 2-3 times as much on marketing as it does on research

Thank you