According to SDI, a leading healthcare market insight and analytics firm, in spring 2009, Takeda made more visits to managed care professionals than any other pharmaceutical manufacturer, accounting for almost 7% of contacts recorded in SDI’s Managed Care Pharmacy Executive and Managed Care Medical Director audits. Takeda was followed by AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Abbott, each representing about 5% of reported visits.
Takeda’s focus during the majority of these visits was on its two new drugs, Kapidex and Uloric. More than three-fourths of Takeda’s product discussions with managed care professionals involved one of these two brands.
“Typically, companies with newer drugs spend the majority of their time with managed care plans promoting these products,” says Nick Carras, an SDI Senior Product Manager. “Managed care plans often evaluate a product a few months after its introduction and decide whether to include it on their formulary, and at what formulary tier.”
A formulary is a list of medications that an insurer will pay for. Formularies are often designed in tiers. The lowest tier usually consists of generics and carries the lowest co-pay for patients. As tiers rise, so do out-of-pocket costs paid by patients.
SDI’s Managed Care Formulary Drug Audit reports that more than 70% of surveyed health maintenance organizations and pharmacy benefit managers, representing almost 230 million covered lives, review new drugs for inclusion on their formularies 3 to 6 months after the drugs first appear on the market. Four percent of plans review a new product sooner; 15% take 7 to 12 months.