March 15, 2011 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

The Second Highest Percentages of Neurologists and Payers chose Purdue/Napp/Mundipharma/Shionogi’s OxyContin as the most Efficacious Neuropathic back Pain Therapy, According to Findings from decision Resources

BURLINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Decision Resources, one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, for the treatment of neuropathic back pain, the highest percentages of surveyed neurologists (53 percent) and surveyed managed care organizations’ (MCO) pharmacy directors (40 percent) chose Pfizer’s Lyrica (pregabalin) as the most efficacious therapy, when compared to other currently available agents. Surveyed neurologists who chose Lyrica as the most efficacious therapy indicated high satisfaction with the percentage of patients responding to treatment, reduction in pain intensity and reduction of disability.

“Many interviewed physicians remark that although OxyContin is a highly effective analgesic, it rarely improves a patient’s quality of life, owing to its detrimental gastrointestinal and central nervous system side effects—as well as its abuse potential”

The DecisionBase 2011 report entitled Neuropathic back Pain: Could an Emerging Therapy Obtain Commercial Success by Targeting this Untapped Patient Population? also finds that the second highest percentages of neurologists (20 percent) and payers (25 percent) selected Purdue/Napp/Mundipharma/Shionogi’s OxyContin (oxycodone controlled-release) as the most efficacious available therapy for neuropathic back pain. Neurologists’ responses were similar to those of payers as both groups showed greatest satisfaction with OxyContin’s reduction in pain intensity and the percentage of patients responding to treatment. However, both groups, on average, indicated low satisfaction with OxyContin on safety and tolerability end points.

“Many interviewed physicians remark that although OxyContin is a highly effective analgesic, it rarely improves a patient’s quality of life, owing to its detrimental gastrointestinal and central nervous system side effects—as well as its abuse potential,” said decision Resources Analyst Natalie Taylor, Ph.D. “Additionally, interviewed thought leaders perceive antiepileptics such as Lyrica as disease-modifying agents because of their direct action on the compressed or entrapped nerves involved in neuropathic back pain, whereas strong opioid analgesics such as OxyContin act centrally and are perceived to primarily lessen pain symptoms.”

The findings also reveal that surveyed neurologists indicate that they would prescribe Depomed/Abbott’s gabapentin GR to 20 percent of their neuropathic back pain patients. decision Resources forecasts that gabapentin GR will attain a lower patient share than that estimated by surveyed neurologists, owing to competition from Lyrica and generic gabapentin (Pfizer’s Neurontin, generics).

Additionally, surveyed U.S. neurologists and MCO pharmacy directors agree that reduction in pain intensity is one of the attributes that most influences their decisions regarding prescribing and tier placement decisions, respectively, in neuropathic back pain. Clinical data and the opinions of interviewed thought leaders indicate that tramadol extended-release (ER; Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals/ Labopharm/Sanofi Aventis/Grünenthal/Hexal/Merck Sharp & Dohme’s Ultram ER, Monotramal LP, Tramadolor, Tradorec XL, generics) has advantages over sales-leading OxyContin on this attribute.

About DecisionBase 2011

DecisionBase 2011 combines clinical end points, market dynamics, reimbursement factors and primary research involving prescribers and payers to identify and quantify unmet need in 35 indications. as part of the unmet need analysis, patient share and sales are projected for key emerging drugs in development and for potential target product profiles based on physicians’ expectations.

About decision Resources

decision Resources (decisionresources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources and master their chosen markets. decision Resources is a decision Resources, Inc. company.

About decision Resources, Inc.

decision Resources, Inc. is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit decision Resources, Inc. at DecisionResourcesInc.com.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Release Source: Decision Resources On Monday November 15, 2010, 8:00 am EST

BURLINGTON, Mass., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Decision Resources, one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that although four out of five surveyed psoriasis patients in the United States who have requested a brand indicate that physicians are willing to comply with their request to be prescribed a specific drug, only 20 percent of surveyed patients indicate that they have asked for a psoriasis drug by name. Given the fact that moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients are underserved by currently available treatment options, this finding suggests that marketers of psoriasis therapies could improve the uptake of their therapies by increasing patient awareness of their drugs through physicians, web sites and patient advocacy groups.

Additionally, surveyed patients with both mild and moderate-to-severe psoriasis at the time of diagnosis were more likely to be diagnosed during their first doctor’s visit if they were examined by a dermatologist versus being seen by a primary care physician (PCP). Eighty-five percent of surveyed patients with mild psoriasis and 78 percent of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who were first seen by a dermatologist about their symptoms were diagnosed with psoriasis during their initial examination. however, only between 55 and 60 percent of patients with mild or moderate-to-severe psoriasis were diagnosed with psoriasis during their first examination by a PCP.

The findings are from Decision Resources’ new Patient Forum report entitled Underserved Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis Patients Offer Opportunity for recently Launched and Emerging Agents. With Patient Forum, users can obtain indispensible primary market research on U.S. patient attitudes and perceptions of both their disease and treatment, with a specific focus on how patient segments within the psoriasis population differ from each other in their behavior and disease characteristics.

“Patient acceptance is critically important to the success of a drug brand and by understanding the perspectives, behaviors and attitudes of patients, drug developers can obtain the information they need to effectively market their existing and emerging products,” said Decision Resources Program Manager Jennifer Moniz-Carpenter, M.B.A. “Patient Forum provides primary market research on the patient journey to diagnosis and treatment, how patients perceive their disease and treatment, what drives patient opinion about current treatments and what will prompt patients to request an emerging therapy.”

About Decision Resources

Decision Resources (decisionresources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources and master their chosen markets. Decision Resources is a Decision Resources, Inc. company.

About Decision Resources, Inc.

Decision Resources, Inc. is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. please visit Decision Resources, Inc. at DecisionResourcesInc.com.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Decision Resources, Inc.