The survey showed that not surprisingly, patients by and large have negative views of the pharma industry when it comes to corporate responsibility and pricing -- mostly pricing.
It is probably fair to say that a significant number of people have a love-hate relationship with the pharma industry. People love the medications and innovations that treat a wide swath of diseases and illnesses, yet, when it comes to list prices, those tend to raise the hackles of people.
A quick glance at most any social media site will reveal how companies tend to be perceived by the populace, particularly when the price of new medications is reported. Social media comments should be taken with a grain of salt, as many conspiracy theorists do tend to speculate on how companies are sitting on cures for treatments and only sell medications that will treat a disease – thus ensuring long-term profitability. That conspiracy theory aside, a new survey shows that assessment seems to be holding among patient populations. According to PatientView’s newly released “Corporate Reputation of Pharma – From the Patient Perspective” the majority of people tend to hold a negative or indifferent view of the pharmaceutical industry’s reputation. The results show that 41 percent of people surveyed said that the pharma industry has an “Excellent” or “Good” corporate reputation. That view dipped slightly from 2017 results, which showed that 43 percent of respondents believed the industry had an “Excellent” or “Good” reputation.
Companies that had the best reputation among those surveyed include ViiV Healthcare, which came in at number one. ViiV, a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline, which came in at number 13 on the list, just snagged regulatory approval for its new 2-drug combination HIV treatment, Dovato. Other companies that earned high marks from those surveyed include Gilead Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Novartis and AbbVie made up the top five.
When it comes to developing beneficial medications, the number of positive responses jumped a bit. The survey showed that 53 percent believed the industry was Excellent” or “Good” at making high-quality products. That dropped from 2017’s 57 percent view, PatientView said.
As could be expected, when the survey questions turned to drug pricing, positive opinions hit near rock-bottom. Only 9 percent of respondents said that pharma as a whole was “Excellent” or “Good” at having fair pricing policies. While PatientView said the same question was not asked in 2017, only 11 percent in 2016 had praise for the industry’s pricing.
The price of prescription medication has certainly been the center of ongoing debates in the United States, with Congress holding multiple hearings on pricing that involved representatives from some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies, as well as prescription benefits managers (PBMs).
