Pharmaceutical Executive, Nov 1, 2005

Features

RX Club Award 2005 Coverage

Valeant Pharmaceuticals is Soldiering On

By Sara Calabro

Valeant is banking on Viramidine, a pro-drug of its longtime cash cow, ribavirin, to catapult the company to the next level.

Are We Aligned Yet? A Medicare Part D Roundtable

By Patrick Clinton

The most salient feature of the Medicare prescription drug benefit is its uncertainties. That was perhaps the key insight at a roundtable conducted by Pharmaceutical Executive in conjunction with the executive summit "Medicare Part D: Can There Be Alignment Between Government Goals and Industry Opportunity?" cosponsored by this magazine and Model N, a revenue management-solution provider. With a panel that included representatives from pharma, the legal community, prescription benefit managers, and data and service providers, the roundtable looked at the goals of Part D, the threats and opportunities it presents to stakeholders, the skills companies need to develop, and the way the playing field is likely to change over the next few years. What follows is an edited version of the conversation.

Bustin' a CAP: The Competative Acquisition Program

By Elan Rubinstein , David Galardi

Medicare's Competitive Acquisition Program takes a shot at reforming Part B drug distribution. But the new rules evoke a vast and complicated Rube Goldberg machine, where nobody gains much—except CMS.

Columns

Meetings: Incorporating Technology

By Bonni Skepcowski

It's time to raise the ante and start using technology to create the kind of high-energy, interactive, information-rich environment young Americans crave:a 21st century environment for learning.

Marketing to Professionals: Detailing

By Mike Luby

While the typical brand invests more than $100 million in annual sales force support, it spends on average less than $2 million to determine whether the detail piece is driving prescriptions.

Backpage: The Career Coach

By Judi Glova

Recently, a client of mine—let's call her Susan—was offered a job she really, really wanted. It had been an excruciating process with multiple interviews and even a personality test. (In case you were wondering, you can't flunk a personality test as long as you are breathing and haven't hidden the bodies of former co-workers in your basement.)

Alternative Media: Targeting Audiences on the Web

By Peter H. Nalen

When investigating a health condition, most consumers search for information by inputting their symptoms. Offering symptoms-related information on your site could help improve its ranking.

Direct to Consumer: A Q&A with Jim Hoyes

By Alana Klein

Newly diagnosed patients are looking for a third-party shoulder to lean on, or someone to talk to aside from a physician.

Washington Report

Opinion: It's All Relative

By Peter Pitts

PhRMA Guiding Principle number 10 calls for the banishment of reminder ads. While there are many reasons why drug ads truly advance the public health, there are no good arguments for why reminder ads advance public health in any way.

Washington Report: Out of Commission? Crawford Steps Down

By Jill Wechsler

The circumstances of Crawford's departure may complicate the process of securing a permanent FDA leader. Congress and HHS are investigating whether his confirmation process failed to uncover important facts.

Legal: State Compulsory Licenses

By Tamsen Valoir

Under one bill, states could license patented drugs to generics companies, paying patent holders a royalty.

Global Report

Global Report: Drug Evaluation in the UK

By Sarah Houlton

Genentech and Biogen's MabThera has been awaiting NICE appraisal for three years. Merck KGaA's Erbitux has waited two-and-a-half years. A ruling on AstraZeneca's Arimidex isn't expected for more than a year.

Thought Leader

Thought Leader: A Q&A with Steve Rauschkolb

The most important result for pharma firms of the changing sales structure is a reduction in the amount of training resources that are available to them.

From the Editor

From the Editor: Lost World

By Patrick Clinton

Leo H. Sternbach's death feels like the end of an era, a time when the new drugs came easily and it was possible to have a huge impact on patients, then turn around and do it again.