Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - (Page 2) From the Editor Coping strategies One constructive thing about the credit crisis is the sense of extra purpose it is bringing to conferences such as this month’s Economist Pharma Summit, which I touched upon last week. Where last December’s FT conference had left me with a feeling of disappointment, the Economist event presented a diverse range of arguments and viewpoints that were genuinely stimulating, the sum of which suggested to me that a Golden Age of conferencing could be being ushered in by the economic Dark Age. Under the lively (yet rigorous) moderation of Vijay Vaitheeswaran, we were treated to some fresh and sometimes conflicting perspectives on the various imminent pharma crises. For example, where Henry Dummett of Double Helix Consulting urged us to look towards under-explored territories such as Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa, Eli Lilly’s Andrew Hotchkiss underlined how there are still market opportunities in Europe to be seized, reminding us that in 2012 the top eight markets will still contribute two-thirds of global sales. Shire’s CEO Angus Russell extolled the virtues of moving into the orphan drug arena, and his facts were illuminating. One in ten people has an ‘orphan disease’ and “just about every economy in the world has a provision for paying for orphan drugs.” I certainly hadn’t realised that rare diseases were so common (!), but Russell’s argument was convincing. Indeed, Vaitheeswaran called it “the most eloquent defence of orphans since Charles Dickens.” Patrick Flochel of Ernst & Young offered an FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) model as a benchmark for pharma. After all, he maintained, you can find Coca Cola in the world’s remotest villages, why not drugs? All this had been offered for discussion by 10.30 am; there were still a dozen speakers to come. One can only hope that future events take the Pharma Summit’s lead. It would be good to know that in these cash-strapped times at least our conferences offer value for money. For more on these news stories and all the latest breaking pharma news, look at our website www.pharmexeceurope.com Novartis tops European service delivery chart Research from TNS Healthcare (US) has shown that physicians in the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy award Novartis top marks for its delivery of sales and service activities. Merck took the top spot in the US and ties with Novartis in the UK and Germany. The results are based on an internet survey of more than 1500 general practitioners across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The survey measured the performance of 17 top companies across ten areas, including rep conduct; rep knowledge and expertise; quality of sales visits; and patient management, education and support. Nine of the 17 companies measured in Germany, however, saw their scores fall (this included Novartis). Andrew Brana of TNS commented: “We saw several fascinating trends in how physicians rate companies for their service delivery this year. “ But he added: “The need for continued improvement on service activities is … pressing in Europe, where scores for the new services are particularly low. Clearly, there is significant opportunity for companies in Europe to improve and differentiate their offerings through brand support services they can provide to their customers.” Norway’s Algeta nets 27 million Cancer therapeutics company Algeta has announced that it has raised 27.65 million (NOK 245 million) through the private placement of 22.3 million new shares, with a par value of NOK 0.50, at a price of NOK 11 per share. The private placement took place through a bookbuilding process and was directed towards existing shareholders as well as selected new institutional and professional investors. It was led by Abingworth LLP, an investment group dedicated to the life (continued on page 3) Julian Upton jupton@advanstar.com 1 9 NEWS BIOFUTURES 2 11 FROM THE EDITOR / NEWS DIGITAL MARKETING 6 CALENDAR 7 JACKY LAW 13 ON THE MOVE SUBSCRIBE TO PHARM EXEC http://www.pharmexeceurope.com http://www.tnsglobal.com/market-research/healthcare-research/ http://www.tnsglobal.com/market-research/healthcare-research/ http://www.algeta.com http://www.pharmexeceurope.com/europharmexec/newsletter/subscribeNewsletter.jsp
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 Contents From the Editor News Calendar Critical Vision Biofutures Digital Marketing On the Move Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Contents (Page 1) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - News (Page 2) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - News (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - News (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - News (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Calendar (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Critical Vision (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Critical Vision (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Biofutures (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Biofutures (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Digital Marketing (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - Digital Marketing (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 25, 2009 - On the Move (Page 13)
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