Dublin, Aug. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "The Corporate Reputation of Pharma Companies, 2017 - The Patient Perspective of 52 Skin Patient Groups - Skin Edition" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering

Skin patient groups are more appreciative of pharma than patient groups in most other therapy areas - especially companies that are demonstrating an increasing investment in skin-conditions R&D

The percentage of skin patient groups believing that the pharma industry's corporate reputation was Excellent or Good has increased in the last few yearsfrom 45% in 2015, to 60% in 2017. The latter figure is significantly higher than the equivalent 2017 average among patient groups of all therapy areas (43%). Furthermore, skin patient groups ranked the pharmaceutical industry 1st out of nine healthcare sectors for corporate reputation in 2017 (in 2016, they had ranked the industry 2nd).

The reason for these positive views has much to do with some pharma companies' latest R&D output in the field of dermatology. The importance that skin patient groups place on new product development can be seen from Chart 2, which compares the views of skin patient groups with those of the attitudes of patient groups from 22 other specialties.

Thus, in 2017, as many as 62% of the 52 skin patient groups thought that the pharmaceutical industry was Excellent or Good at innovation. Only patient groups specialising in pulmonary hypertension and haemophilia were more positive about the industry's ability to innovate in 2017.

Attitudes to pharma differ by type of skin patient group However, attitudes among the various types of skin patient groups vary, according to the scale of pharma investment in their particular dermatological area. For instance, patient groups specialising in alopecia are more negative towards pharma's R&D than those specialising in atopic dermatitis, eczema, or psoriasis.

How can pharma improve?

The 52 skin patient groups respondent to the 2017 'Corporate Reputation of Pharma' survey used their comments to outline some of the issues facing new skin-treatment products:

  • The need for a more holistic approach to skin diseases and their treatment (involving not just medication).
  • More convenient methods of administering dosage. One suggestion was the creation of patient-advocacy boards, through which patients could give their feedback regarding the development of pill bottles, blister packs, aids to help opening the above items, etc.
  • High prices can form a barrier to patient uptake of skin treatments (particularly in countries where skin conditions such as psoriasis are still considered a mere cosmetic, rather than a truly medical, problem). Pricing is a factor that, in general, requires to be tackled-especially with the launch of costly biologics. Patient groups add, though, that their views can help establish real medical needs - not just those determined by clinicians and pharma - thereby validating access to treatment.
  • Respondent skin patient groups suggested that the pharmaceutical industry could better determine real patient safety concerns by gathering information on patient experiences. For instance, many patients with a skin condition would like to receive an assurance that a product does not contain allergens (such as perfume). Patients also want access to continuously-updated patient-safety information, above and beyond what is contained in the medicine's patient-information leaflet.
  • A number of skin patient groups referred to their familiarity with the range of challenges faced by patients with skin conditions. Such in-depth expertise means that greater consultation with patient groups by the industry could only enhance the quality of R&D.

Report Highlights

  • Novartis was ranked overall 1st for corporate reputation out of 15 companies in 2017 by skin patient groups familiar with the company. The company was also ranked 1st for as many as nine of the 12 indicators of corporate reputation by skin patient groups familiar with it.
  • Sanofi made the biggest leap up the corporate-reputation rankings among skin patient groups familiar with it - ranking 9th in 2017, compared with 15th in 2016.

Companies Mentioned

  • Abbvie
  • Amgen
  • Astrazeneca
  • Bayer
  • Boehringer Ingelheim
  • Celgene
  • Eli Lilly
  • GSK
  • Janssen
  • Leo Pharma
  • Merck & Co
  • Novartis
  • Pfizer
  • Roche
  • Sanofi

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3...orate?w=12

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