Cognet~X
Inc.: Three Drug Categories Have Greatest Impact on Many Managed Care Pharmacy
Budgets
FEASTERVILLE---(February 19,
2002)---Antidepressants, proton pump inhibitors and cholesterol reducers often
have the largest impact on U.S. managed care organizations’ pharmacy
budgets, according to Cognet~X Inc. data.
At the same time, about one-quarter
of the managed care pharmacy directors surveyed said their plan’s medical
costs are decreasing in proportion to pharmacy costs increasing. This suggests
that the use of prescription medications is helping to reduce
hospitalizations, emergency room visits and other medical expenses.
About 80% of the managed care
pharmacy directors surveyed told Cognet~X that antidepressants known as
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and proton pump inhibitors were among
the top 5 drug classes impacting their plan’s budget for prescription drugs.
PPIs treat gastroesophageal reflux disease and erosive esophagitis.
The SSRI class includes brands such
as Eli Lilly & Co.’s Prozac, Forest Laboratories’ Celexa, Pfizer
Inc.’s Zoloft and GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil. Celexa was one of the 10 drugs
most promoted to managed care pharmacy directors in 2001, according to Cognet~X’s PAR-Rx (Promotional Assessment Research) Report™.
Three of the five PPIs on the
market also were among the top promoted brands to pharmacy directors in 2001.
TAP Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Prevacid was the No. 1 most-promoted product,
followed by competitors Protonix (American Home Products Co.) and Nexium
(AstraZeneca PLC) in second and third place, respectively, PAR-Rx data show.
In addition, 77% of pharmacy
directors surveyed said that another drug class, cholesterol reducers known as
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors or “statins,” was among the most costly to
their plans.
That drug category includes brands
such as Pfizer’s Lipitor, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Pravachol and Merck
& Co.’s Zocor.
About one-quarter of pharmacy
executives added oral antidiabetic agents and antiarthritic medications,
including the COX-2 class, to their list of products that most impact their
budget.
These
findings are included in the demographic information that Cognet~X collects
for the PAR-Rx Report.
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.
