Medimix International’s Panels Provide Unique Insights into “Pharmerging” Markets

Case study: COPD Treatment Paradigm in China, Korea, Turkey, Mexico and Brazil

Miami, FL (October 30, 2008) - With financial markets undergoing attack across the globe and pharmaceutical sales in US, Europe, and Japan slowing dramatically, the serious players in the pharmaceutical arena are having to change their game plans to adjust to the changing dynamics: Enter the “Pharmerging Markets”!

The US and Europe Top Five were expected to have marked a meager 4-5% growth increase for 2008, and Japan a mere 1-2%. By contrast, the “pharmerging” markets are forecasted to experience growth rates of 14-15 % and together will represent about 32% of global market growth by 2012.

Breaking into some of these previously untapped and seemingly enigmatic markets requires an understanding of not only cultural and linguistic differences, but an in-depth knowledge of how the local medical systems operate and how treatment decisions are made. Medimix International has been conducting studies in Asia and Latin America since 1995. Most recently it finished a study in “pharmerging” markets among patients and prescribers of COPD, as part of a larger study incorporating Australia, South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, Canada and Mexico.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is characterized by a difficulty in exhaling normally and causes an inflammatory process that eventually leads to abnormalities in the lungs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 75% of deaths from COPD that occur in developed countries are directly related to smoking tobacco.

China and Mexico in particular are troubled by high levels of pollution, fueled by the burning of biomass, as well as extremely high rates of tobacco consumption. In China, rates are markedly higher in rural areas where residents are exposed to occupational dusts and continue to use wood, charcoal or coal for fuel. These factors, along with dyspnea, are considered by the treating physicians to be the major causes of COPD in emerging countries. A recent study by Harvard University projected that in China alone 65 million deaths could occur due to COPD in the next 25 years!

An aging population and rising smoking rates among women mean that COPD in China is a problem expected to grow worse before it gets better. However, the diagnosis of COPD is relatively new for most patients in China, with local and global guidelines being recently introduced.

Since there is very little prescription information in these markets, Medimix designed an ad-hoc survey based on it’s proprietary research model Behave TM, which uses interviews and a Last Patient Analysis (LPA) technique. The result was the completion of more than 800 physician interviews and the analysis of 4,200 patient cases. This first quantitative phase was completed in record time and helped identify detailed treatment paradigms in each country. This was followed by in-depth interviews with physicians, in order to determine the underlying rationale behind specific treatment behavior.

Treatment patterns varied significantly from country to country, with physicians in China consistently using older treatments, whether for mild, moderate, severe or very severe patients. However, Turkish and Mexican physicians often use combination therapies, even at early stages of the disease.

“One of the advantage of using Behave® is that it provides a very robust patient sample to analyze at a reasonable cost,” comments Henry Gazay, CEO of Medimix International. “The ability to deploy this methodology in countries as different as China and Turkey and to obtain in each of these markets results that can be used for forecasting, segmentation or campaign targeting is pretty unique.”

This survey was conducted in Q2 and Q3 2008, for one of the top 10 pharmaceutical company. Results are client-proprietary.

To obtain more information on conducting studies in the “pharmerging” markets (or any
market) using Medimix Behave TM or to request a live demonstration of this product,
please contact Kathryn McAdam at communications@medimix.net.
 
About Medimix International
Medimix International is a dynamic provider of advanced marketing research solutions for the healthcare industry worldwide. Medimix’s proprietary panel provides direct access to over 500,000 physicians and healthcare professionals from around the world, making it one of the largest panels in the industry.
Medimix specializes in global research. Learn more at www.medimix.net.
Contact for this press release:
Kathryn McAdam
Email: communications@medimix.net
35 NE 40th St., Suite 200
Miami, Fl. 33137