Safety-minded physicians likely to adopt emerging brands in asthma treatment: Report

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, identifies a segment of safety-minded physicians who are the most likely to rapidly adopt emerging brands with a novel mechanism of action when compared with other physician segments in the analysis. Thirty percent of physicians surveyed fall into the safety-minded physician segment and report their top drivers of brand choice when prescribing a drug for asthma include the drug's risk of life-threatening side effects, risk of severe side effects and a long-term safety record.

According to the new report, Brand Perception Series: Physician Segmentation in Asthma, physicians report the greatest need in asthma treatment is for a drug with a novel mechanism of action. The safety-minded physician segment contains the greatest percentage of surveyed physicians who say they are familiar with such agents, including Aerovance's Aerovant, GlaxoSmithKline's Bostria and Ception Therapeutics/Cephalon's Cinquil.

More than half of surveyed physicians in the safety-minded segment say they currently prescribe Sepracor/Nycomed's Alvesco, the newest of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). The safety-minded physician segment is also a high-volume segment, treating more asthma patients per month and writing more prescriptions for asthma medications per week than other segments in the analysis.  

"Surveyed safety-minded physicians' use of Alvesco and their familiarity with emerging brands with a novel mechanism of action indicate they may more readily use these novel emerging brands despite their concern with long-term safety, especially if the mechanism of action is considered safe," said Decision Resources Analyst Amanda Puffer, M.Sc. "Considering safety-minded physicians' use of current brands and the patient populations they treat, these physicians may be a good target for emerging brands with a novel mechanism of action."

SOURCE Decision Resources