Merck & Co. No. 1 with Key
Managed Care Executives; Cognet-X, Inc. Releases First-Quarter PAR-RX Report™
Results
FEASTERVILLE,
PA---(April 17, 2001)---During the first quarter of 2001, Merck & Co., Inc.
received the highest overall assessment ranking by the most influential managed
care pharmacy directors, Cognet-X, Inc. reported today.
According to
Cognet-X’s PAR-Rx (Promotional Assessment Research) Report™, Merck generated
a total Overall Assessment score of 363, edging past Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Corp., which received a total score of 361 points.
Aventis
Pharmaceuticals placed third (225 points) in the overall standings, followed by
GlaxoSmithKline (200) and Abbott Laboratories (117).
The rankings are
the first full-quarter results generated by Cognet-X’s PAR-Rx Report and
utilize the company’s proprietary Scale of Influence model to assess
pharmaceutical company promotional activity to leading managed care pharmacy
directors.
In the
first-quarter assessment period, Merck also garnered the top rankings in two of
the five key assessment categories: Knowledgeable Account Personnel and Contract
Terms. In fact, Merck’s highest score—435 points—was in the category of
Knowledgeable Account Personnel. This score also was the highest recorded in any
assessment category during January 2001 through March 2001.
“Our PAR-Rx
panelists found Merck to be very flexible and responsive to their needs with
regard to contract terms,” said Charles M. Maier, Cognet-X’s director of
market research analysis. “In terms of Merck’s account personnel, one
pharmacy director seemed to speak for most of his colleagues when he said it
came down to ‘Trust, trust and more trust.’ Merck understands the importance
of building and maintaining strong business relationships.”
Novartis ranked
first in pull-through programs, which are pharmaceutical company initiatives
designed to increase the market share of specific products while reducing
pharmaceutical expenditures for managed care organizations.
According to
Maier, “Novartis’ willingness to partner to achieve mutually beneficial
goals helped the company stand out with PAR-Rx panelists during the first
quarter.”
GlaxoSmithKline
received top rankings in two categories—Disease Management program offerings
and Value-added Services. GSK’s first-place positions in these assessment
areas speak well of the newly merged company’s heritage from Glaxo Wellcome
and SmithKline Beecham, both of which were well-regarded by managed care
executives prior to the merger.
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 cutting-edge Cognet~X products, please
contact Robert E. Houghton at 1-866-cognetx (866-264-6389) or robh@cognetx.com
