Accenture’s Advice to Pharma: It’s The Evidence, Stupid.
By Clive Riddle, January 12, 2018
Remember when Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign mantra was
“it’s the economy, stupid”?
Accenture advises the
pharmaceutical industry to substitute evidence for economy in that
equation and focus more on evidence-based solutions than products or
brand.
Accenture has just released 16-page report:
Product Launch: The Patient Has Spoken in which they
conclude “brands are not major influencing factors when patients
consider new pharmaceutical products. More than two-thirds (69 percent)
of patients surveyed said the product’s benefits – i.e., treatment
outcomes – are more important than the brand itself, with less than
one-third (31 percent) citing a strong affinity to brands in a
healthcare setting.”
Accenture tells us that for the report, they commissioned a survey of
8,000 patients in France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S across eight
therapeutic areas – immunology, cardiology, pulmonology, neurology,
oncology, rheumatology, endocrinology and eye disease. Respondents
represented three main age demographics: baby boomers, Gen Xers and
millennials.
Accenture shared the following findings:
When patients were asked which factors influence their healthcare
product and treatment decisions:
·
66% cited the doctor/physician
relationship
·
55% indicated the ability to maintain
their current lifestyle
·
53% said ease of access to the care
they’ll need
·
But just 31% listed brand loyalty or
popularity, and this ranked twelfth out of 14 influencing factors
The report notes that patient perspectives include:
·
38 % said they feel very knowledgeable
about new or existing products coming to market for their condition
·
25 % reported having either very
limited or no knowledge of new products that might be suitable for them
·
48 % believe that their doctors
discuss the full range of product options with them
·
44 % feel that they have significant
input into their treatment selection
·
63 % said they want to be involved in
such decisions
·
47% said they’ve thought about
switching their treatment at some point
·
62%of those who think about switching
end up doing so
So if it isn’t product and brand, what does drive patient treatment
choice decisions? Accenture says “despite survey results showing that
many patients look online for information about new treatments,
physicians remain the primary influencer of their treatment choices. In
fact, the reason patients cited most often for switching treatments was
a recommendation from their physician (cited by 81 percent of patients
who switched treatments), followed by proven benefits compared to
current treatment (79 percent) and fewer side-effects than their current
treatment (78 percent).”
Regarding demographics, the survey “findings also identified differences
in attitude and behavior by age group, with younger patients more likely
than older ones to understand which treatments are available—and switch
treatments when they believe there’s something better. For instance,
while physician recommendation was the most-cited reason across all age
groups for switching treatment, Millennials are almost twice as likely
as Baby Boomers to be influenced by people posting alternative treatment
options on social media.”
Of course what the report doesn’t focus on regarding treatment decisions
is the role of insurance coverage, cost-sharing and formularies. But
Accenture’s message in this value based era should still resonate.
Accenture’s Jim Cleffi, a co-author of the report, tells us “given the
significant budgets pharmaceutical companies devote to driving brand
equity in the marketplace, our report findings should be a strong signal
to the industry that launch strategies need to change. Patients in our
study made it clear that outcomes matter most which means that pharma
companies should focus their launch strategies and communications more
on patient value and impact versus the brand—and do so in a much more
precise and personalized way. Reallocating parts of launch budgets to
programs that resonate the most with different patient segments would
not only better meet patients’ needs and deliver better outcomes, but
likely provide the companies with better ROI.”
Accenture provides pharma two recommendations in the report:
1)
Bring an outcome – not just a product – to market. Patients value
outcomes over brands, so instead of launching just products,
pharmaceutical companies should start launching evidence-based
solutions, or products with services as a secondary offering. This will
require collaborative data-sharing – between patients, providers and
payers – along with advanced analytics to generate robust insights and
delivery via digital channels. This mindset should begin at the clinical
trial-stage so it informs new launch strategies and full
commercialization.
2)
Make it personal and precise. One size no longer fits all;
pharmaceutical companies need to understand patient sub-segments and
develop value-driven launch strategies tailored to each segment.
Harnessing advanced analytics and other new technologies that leverage
the proliferation of health data will help enable companies to modify
launch strategies that make new treatments more relevant to patients
while also driving better-informed resource and investment allocations. |
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