What 81 German patient groups think of 20 pharma companies in 2018

~ Contact: Alex Wyke ~ Tel: +44-(0)7960-855-019 ~ Email: report@patient-view.com

London, August 15th, 2019.

ABOUT THIS REPORT AND SURVEY

This is the 7th edition of 'The Corporate Reputation of Pharma — from the Perspective of German Patient Groups'.

The 2018 Germany results are drawn from a survey of patient groups, conducted November 2018 - February 2019.

Profile of 2018's respondent German patient groups:

81 German patient groups, specialising in 38 therapy areas: cancer [18]; autoimmune [8]; rare diseases [8]; neurological [8]; mental health [5]; osteoporosis [3]; haemophilia [2]; other blood disorders [2]; and other therapy areas.
40% are national patient groups. 10% are international patient groups.

German patient-group partnerships with industry:

56% of 2018's 81 respondent German patient groups worked/partnered with at least one pharma company.

The 2018 Germany Corporate-Reputation report also contains an appendix published as a stand-alone report, carrying the comments given to the survey by 2018's respondent German patient groups on how pharma can improve [the comments are organised by therapy areas].

KEY FINDINGS ACROSS THE PHARMA INDUSTRY

The relationship between patient groups in Germany and the pharma industry is, in one way at least, more complex than in other countries. Because the German people pay a significant proportion of their income towards their healthcare, German citizens—and the patient groups representing them—inevitably suspect for-profit healthcare companies of wishing to exploit the German model of funding national healthcare by charging ever higher prices for their products.

PatientView first began looking at feedback from German patient groups in 2012. Since then, the country’s patient groups have remained consistently more negative than patient groups from most other parts of the world about the corporate reputation of the pharma industry as a whole. 26% of the German patient groups responding to 2018’s Corporate-Reputation survey stated that the industry had an “Excellent” or “Good” corporate reputation that year (compared with 41% of patient groups worldwide)—a figure down on even 2017’s Germany figure of 39%.

Percentage of respondent patient groups stating that the corporate reputation of the pharmaceutical industry as a whole was “Excellent” or “Good”, 2012-2018—German patient groups vs. patient groups worldwide

What factors are influencing German patient groups’ view of pharma?

The data collected in the 2018 analyses suggests that the explanation for the recent decline in German patient groups’ attitudes towards the pharma industry as whole (and their general negative sentiment to the industry over the past seven years) appears to be linked to German patient groups’ poor perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to innovate, and to provide high-quality products [see charts, below]:

In 2014, over half (54%) of German patient groups regarded the pharma industry as a whole as “Excellent” or “Good” at providing high-quality, useful products for patients; in 2018, the equivalent figure had dropped to 33%. Worldwide, 53% of 2018’s respondent patient groups believed that pharma was “Excellent” or “Good” at providing high-quality, useful products for patients.
Comparing the views of 2018’s respondent patient groups from across Western-European countries: German patient groups are the most sceptical about pharma’s ability to provide high-quality, useful products for patients.

Percentage of respondent German patient groups stating that the pharmaceutical industry as a whole was “Excellent” or “Good” at providing high-quality products, 2014-2018

Percentage of respondent patient groups stating that the pharmaceutical industry as a whole was “Excellent” or “Good”at providing high-quality products, 2018—selected Western-Europe countries [number of patient groups responding from each country]

"Im nationalen und internationalen Wettbewerb unter dem Druck der machtvollen Krankenkassen, verbunden mit den Einflüssen der Politik und den Kostensenkungsstrategien und Maßnahemn lassen eine Patientenorientierung immer weiter absinken.”
[“A patient-centred approach becomes ever less realistic in the face of national and international competition under pressure from powerful health-insurance companies, combined with the influence of politics and cost-reduction strategies and measures.”]
—National German patient group specialising in public health

HOW DID THE COMPANIES PERFORM?

HOW CORPORATE REPUTATION IS MEASURED

The overall corporate reputation of each company is assessed according to that company's performance (as judged by patient groups) at 12 individual indicators of corporate reputation.

The TOP-TEN companies for corporate reputation in Germany—from the perspective of German patient groups familiar with the company, 2018 vs. 2017 (∆ = difference)

The 12 indicators used to measure corporate reputation from the perspective of patient groups

1. Patient centricity.
2. Patient information.
3. Patient safety.
4. High-quality products.
5i. Transparency: pricing.
5ii. Transparency: clinical-trial data.

5iii. Transparency: funding of stakeholders.
6. Integrity.
7. Relationships with patient groups.
8. Providing services ‘beyond the pill’.
9i. Engaging patients in research.
9ii. Engaging patients in development.

Takeda/Shire was ranked overall 1st out of the 20 companies for corporate reputation in 2018 by the 21 German patient groups claiming familiarity with it—a rise of 10 places up the Germany rankings from Takeda’s position in the previous survey of 2017 (that 2017 survey was conducted before Takeda’s 2018-2019 merger with Shire). The newly-merged company was also ranked 1st in 2018 in Germany for eight of the 12 individual indicators of corporate reputation.
Roche was ranked overall 2nd out of 20 companies for corporate reputation in 2018 by the 60 German patient groups claiming familiarity with it—up two places from 2017 in Germany. Roche was also ranked 1st in 2018 in Germany for two of the 12 individual indicators of corporate reputation.
AbbVie was ranked overall 3rd out of 20 companies for corporate reputation in 2018 by the 22 German patient groups claiming familiarity with it—a rise of one place from 2017. AbbVie was also ranked 1st in 2018 in Germany for one individual indicator of corporate reputation: patient centricity.

For further information on the 2018 GERMANY report, please use contact details at the top of this press release

~END OF PRESS RELEASE~