New healthcare-related products, services, and companies
Market Measures/Cozint Forms Emerging Markets Team
Group to focus exclusively on the market research needs of emerging pharma companies. Realizing that smaller and specialized companies involved in the healthcare field have unique requirements that differ from the needs of large pharmaceutical manufacturers, Market Measures/Cozint has recently formed an Emerging Markets team that is completely dedicated to these customer groups. According to Cindy Blodgett, executive VP of Market Measures/Cozint and head of the Emerging Markets team, the goal of this initiative is to make sure that emerging markets and specialty pharma companies receive the same time and attention typically given to larger pharma companies. “Smaller and specialized companies involved in the healthcare field have unique research requirements that differ from the needs of large pharmaceutical manufacturers,” Ms. Blodgett says. “Emerging companies have much smaller budgets than large pharmaceutical companies. Our goal is to ‘partner’ with these companies so we become their primary market-research consultants. We will know their brands and market challenges so we can provide ongoing value.” The team, comprised of four experts reporting to Ms. Blodgett, is focused exclusively on the market-research needs of emerging pharmaceutical, medical device/diagnostics, and biotech companies. The new team also offers services to organizations with a specialized interest in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, including medical advertising and PR agencies, medical publishers, and Wall Street analysts. The Emerging Markets team is completely dedicated to servicing these specialized customer groups so they won’t need to compete with larger clients for time and attention. Market Measures/Cozint offers access to more than 750,000 U.S. physicians in every major specialty, plus e-mail addresses for 47,000 doctors who have opted to participate in Market Measures/Cozint research. The company also has survey access to the largest global e-research community, covering 290,000 doctors. In addition, the company can reach thousands of patients, categorized by disease state, and a full array of allied health professionals, including managed-care medical and pharmacy directors, nurses, and pharmacists. Market Measures/Cozint’s vast store of syndicated primary research covers more than 40 therapeutic categories spanning physician, patient, and managed-care audiences. Using these resources, the new team can create solutions specifically for emerging companies. “We have the flexibility to create tailored solutions that fit the goals and the budgets of every size and type organization,” Ms. Blodgett says. “We offer a full range of custom and syndicated products to provide added insight, as well as proprietary strategic and tactical guidance.” One product offering that will benefit emerging companies is ScripDriver Rep Encounters, which provides continuous tracking of category-specific promotional efforts, including everything from detail frequency to message recall to prescribing impact. Also marketed to major pharma companies for their smaller brands, ScripDriver Rep Encounters – built from the promotional data collected through ScripDriver – allows the team to provide category-specific salesforce effectiveness insights to emerging markets clients at an affordable price. ScripDriver Rep provides emerging and specialty pharmaceutical companies access to continuous monitoring of their brands against the competition in the marketplace. The Emerging Markets team also has ongoing product development efforts to introduce targeted offerings to this group. “Major pharmaceutical and emerging companies are not different when it comes down to having products that they want to be successful in the marketplace,” Ms. Blodgett says. “We understand that these organizations don’t have the same dollars to spend as the major pharma companies. These companies are not going to work with five or 10 different vendors. They work with one or two vendors that understand and can focus on their needs – and we want to be one of them.” One of NOP World’s core corporate initiatives for 2004 is to position itself very strongly in the emerging markets arena. BIOpoint to Deliver Preclinical Data Management Solutions BioPoint Solutions Inc. has been established to deliver preclinical data management and workflow enforcement for the biotech and pharmaceutical marketplace. The company’s mission is to empower biopharmaceutical companies to reduce the time to market for new drugs, ensure regulatory compliance as mandated by FDA predicate rules such as 21 CFR Part 11, and to optimize human, financial, and physical resources. BioPoint was established to fill the biotech and pharmaceutical industry’s needs for completely integrated technology solutions and professional services designed to ensure the confidentiality, authenticity, integrity, and availability of all data generated during the preclinical drug-discovery process. Through its flagship solution, DiscoverTrac, BioPoint offers a range of technology applications and services, including drug discovery, toxicity animal testing data management, and workflow enforcement. “DiscoverTrac is unique in that it offers the biopharma industry a vertically focused solution specifically designed to reduce the reliance on paper-based record keeping by automating and electronically recording all data generated during the drug discovery process,” says Elery LeBlanc, CEO of BioPoint Solutions. DiscoverTrac addresses the critical infrastructure needs of validation management, integrated data acquisition, change control/audit trail, colony management, laboratory workflow, and report generation. Data are maintained with strict controls imbedded in the system to prevent data tampering and to ensure security in either a closed or open system as defined by the FDA. DiscoverTrac integrates all aspects of the discovery and validation process with a robust system that also includes toxicity animal testing data management and workflow enforcement. Cindy Blodgett According to Chris Hill, chief operating officer, with BioPoint’s DiscoverTrac, biopharm companies will be able to focus more time on research and less time on record keeping, with complete peace of mind that all critical lab data is secure and readily accessible to only the people who need it. Abbott to Launch Global Hospital Products Company Hospira, an independent global hospital products company, is expected to be launched by Abbott Laboratories during the first half of 2004. Hospira, created from Abbott’s core global hospital products businesses, is one of the largest hospital products manufacturers in the United States, with about $2.5 billion in sales and more than 14,000 employees worldwide. As a specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company, Hospira’s products include: medication delivery systems, such as medication management systems (including electronic pumps), infusion therapy and critical care products; and specialty injectable pharmaceuticals, including generic acute-care injectables and intensive care pharmaceuticals. Hospira’s focus on manufacturing and marketing products for the hospital customer also provides opportunities for the company to enhance its contract manufacturing and alternate site businesses. “Based on research with key stakeholders, including customers, we know that Hospira is a name that is easily understood and expresses a tone that is humanistic, confident, and inspirational,” says Christopher B. Begley, who is currently senior VP, hospital products at Abbott Laboratories, and has been named CEO of Hospira. Employees selected the name Hospira, which is derived from the words hospital, spirit, inspire, and the Latin word spero, which means hope. Christopher B. Begley, senior VP of hospital products at Abbott Laboratories, has been named CEO of Hospira. What’s New on the Shelves The FDA Resource Directory – a source for FDA contact information. Published in January 2004 by FDANews, this directory includes the phone numbers of more than 9,000 staff listed alphabetically; organizational charts, mission statements, and key staff listings; a list of Office of Regulatory Affairs field personnel; and an overview of the FDA’s organization, which explains the varied functions of key offices and centers. For more information, visit fdanews.com. Journal of Generic Medicines – a management journal for regulatory, legal, and commercial staff. Launched in October, Henry Stewart Publications’ quarterly journal is designed for those involved in the management and development of generic medicines. Written by leading experts in the field, it is an authoritative source of original insight and analysis, from a commercial, legal, and regulatory perspective. For more information, visit henrystewart.com. Medicare Drug Monitor – a quarterly journal focusing on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and other recently enacted Medicare reforms for drugs and biologics. Published by Parexel and developed and guided by a team of top health policy and drug reimbursement experts, the Medicare Drug Monitor answers questions and provides guidance and advice on future developments and evolving issues. Each issue contains in-depth articles on important issues, as well as sections detailing newly issued regulations, coverage decisions, coding challenges, new products, and perspectives important to state Medicaid programs, dual eligible populations, and other public payer programs. For more information, visit parexelonpolicy.com. WHAT’S new Follow up Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill., is a global, broad-based healthcare company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, nutritionals, and medical products, including devices and diagnostics. For more information, visit abbott.com. BioPoint Solutions Inc., Danvers, Mass., is a provider of technology solutions and professional services for the biopharma industry. For more information, visit biopointsolutions.com. FDAnews, Falls Church, Va., is a provider of domestic and international regulatory, legislative, and business news and information for executives in industries regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and The European Commission. For more information, visit fdanews.com. Henry Stewart Publications, London, with a U.S. office in Birmingham, Ala., is a leading international publisher of professional and academic journals in such areas as marketing and public relations, finance, property, management, and life sciences. For more information, visit henrystewart.com. Market Measures/Cozint, East Hanover, N.J., is a leading supplier of primary research to the global healthcare community and a NOP World Health company. For more information, visit nopworld.com. Parexel International Corp., Waltham, Mass., is one of the largest biopharmaceutical outsourcing organizations in the world, providing a broad range of knowledge-based contract research, medical marketing, and consulting services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device industries. For more information, visit parexel.com.