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Yes, biopharma still has a reputation problem. These leaders are looking for solutions

June 11, 2023
Life sciences

Drug pricing. The opioid crisis. Patent thickets. Scientific misinformation. Around every corner is an issue that has chipped away at the biopharma industry’s reputation even after public perception reached a zenith during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The consensus among biopharma leaders that PharmaVoice spoke to at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) conference this week was that, yes, the industry still has a reputation problem. But they also said there is a good deal of miscommunication around drugmakers’ intentions and education about the drug development process would go a long way to rebuilding trust.

Still, business reputation research firm RepTrak saw pharma’s reputation fade away in the minds of the public just as the pandemic did.

“The unpredictable culture storm that boosted pharma’s reputation at the beginning of the pandemic has fizzled out in the first half of 2022 — their scores are down across the board,” RepTrak’s 2022 report said. “We’ve warned that high scores aren’t a permanent stamp of approval, but a call to action. And pharma’s actions going into the ‘post-pandemic’ phase haven’t earned them those lasting highs.”

While there are many factors to consider when calculating the industry’s reputation, patient access to medicines has become a major sticking point. In 2022, only 32% of patient groups surveyed by the research firm PatientView thought pharma was “excellent” or “good” at improving patient access to medicines. As many as 52% of respondents felt pharma was only “fair” or “poor” at improving access. In 2020, PatientView’s survey showed that 76% of groups thought the pharma industry was “very effective” or “effective” at supporting patients. READ MORE

by Michael Gibney

Source: pharmavoice.com

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