Baby
Boomers Rule: PPIs and Arthritis Medications Dominate 2001 Promotion to
Managed Care Executives, Cognet~X Inc. Data Show
FEASTERVILLE---(February 19,
2002)---A clear sign of the graying of America: eight of the top 10
prescription drugs promoted to key managed care decision makers in 2001 were
products used to treat conditions that affect middle-aged to older adults,
according to a Cognet~X Inc. study.
Full-year 2001 data from Cognet~X’s PAR-Rx (Promotional Assessment Research) Report finds that the
top three most promoted brands were proton pump inhibitors—TAP
Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Prevacid, American Home Products Co.’s Protonix and
AstraZeneca PLC’s Nexium, in that order. Proton pump inhibitors are used to
treat gastroesophageal reflux disease.
PAR-Rx data show that Prevacid
edged past Protonix by two contacts to become the top brand promoted to
managed care pharmacy directors in 2001. The PAR-Rx Report tracks promotion to
the most influential pharmacy directors in the managed care marketplace.
COX-2 inhibitors Celebrex and Vioxx
finished in fourth and sixth place, respectively, for the year. Celebrex,
promoted by Pharmacia Corp. and Pfizer Inc., and Merck & Co.’s Vioxx are
primarily marketed used to treat the pain of osteoarthritis.
Although it was withdrawn from the
U.S. market in August, Bayer Corp.’s cholesterol reducer Baycol placed
seventh for the year, the only product in its category to make the top 10
list.
PAR-Rx
data indicate that two oral antidiabetic agents rounded out the most promoted
brands. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Glucovance placed eighth, and Novartis
Pharmaceutical Corp.’s Starlix finished 10th.
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 valuable Cognet~X products, please contact Robert E.
Houghton (extension 101) at (215) 396-8300 or via e-mail at robh@cognetx.com.
