What 137 Spanish patient groups thought of 24 pharma companies in 2018

'Corporate Reputation of Pharma in 2018 - the Perspective of Spanish Patient Groups'

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

EMBARGO: London, October 10th, 2019 6AM GMT

ABOUT THIS REPORT AND SURVEY

This the 5th edition of 'The Corporate Reputation of Pharma—from the Perspective of Spanish Patient Groups'.
The 2018 results are drawn from a survey of patient groups worldwide, conducted November 2018 - February 2019.

Profile of 2018's respondent Spanish patient groups:

137 respondent Spanish patient groups.
54 specialties (with a high number—17—of HIV/AIDS patient groups).
50% are national patient groups; 4% have an international geographic remit; the rest are regional (within one area of Spain), or local.
65% of the Spanish patient groups have worked with one or more pharma companies.

Company analyses: The following 24 pharma companies were analysed by the 137 Spanish patient groups for overall corporate reputation, and for performance at 12 individual indicators of corporate reputation:

AbbVie I Almirall I AstraZeneca I Bayer I Biogen I Boehringer Ingelheim I Bristol-Myers Squibb I Eli Lilly I Gilead I Grifols I GSK I Janssen I LEO Pharma I Lundbeck I Merck & Co/MSD I Merck KGaA/EMD Serono I Mundipharma I Novartis I Pfizer I Roche/Genentech I Sanofi I Takeda/Shire I Teva I and ViiV Healthcare.

KEY FINDINGS ACROSS THE PHARMA INDUSTRY

Percentage of respondent Spanish patient groups stating that the pharmaceutical industry as a whole was “Excellent” or “Good” at making high-quality products v. having an “Excellent” or “Good” corporate reputation, 2014-2018

Spanish patient-groups' views about pharma’s corporate reputation have fluctuated since 2014. In 2018, only 34% of Spanish patient groups stated that the industry had an “Excellent” or “Good” corporate reputation (compared with 48% saying the same in 2015). The exact causes of the volatility are unknown, but, as the chart above demonstrates, the changing opinions appear to be closely associated with Spanish patient-group attitudes toward the ability of pharma to provide high-quality products.

Spanish patient groups’ more-negative views about pharma’s provision of high-quality products nevertheless seems unrelated to their perception of the industry’s innovative skills. As many as 51% of 2018’s respondent Spanish patient groups thought the industry “Excellent” or “Good” at innovation (the equivalent figure among patient groups worldwide was 47%). Rather, Spanish patient organisations seem to be more concerned about pharma’s lack of research investment in their country.

In a separate survey undertaken by PatientView in April-July 2018 (results published as a report in August 2018, Benchmarking the Patient Movement, shortly before the commencement of 2018’s Corporate-Reputation survey), as many as 59% of the 100 respondent Spanish patient groups stated that a major hurdle to their organisation’s progress towards achieving its goal was a lack of pharma investment in research—a higher percentage than from patient groups in other parts of the world, except those in Africa and the USA [see table].

The percentage of respondent patient groups stating that lack of research investment in their country was a major hurdle to their organisation’s ability to achieve its goals

Ranked top (lowest percentage= finds this less of a hurdle) … to ... bottom (highest percentage = finds this a major hurdle)

The perceptions of the Spanish patient groups have inevitably been influenced by a continuing period of economic austerity for Spanish national healthcare, and the subsequent impact that trend has had on pharma expenditure in the country. According to a 2018 report by EFPIA, pharma companies in Spain (a country with a population of 46.7 million) spent less on research in 2018 than pharma companies based in Sweden (which has a population of only 9.9 million).

Many of the Spanish patient groups responding to the 2018 Corporate-Reputation survey underline the concerns they feel at the industry's lack of investment in their country:

“Promover y fortalecer la investigación en este area.”

(“Promote and strengthen research in this area [HIV/AIDS].”)

Associació Ciutadana d’Alacant d’Afectats i Afectades pel VIH-SIDA (ACAVIH)

“Formar a los pacientes en su patología y favorecer una participación más abierta en investigación y ensayos clínicos.”

(“Educate patients about their disease, and encourage more-open participation in research and clinical trials.”)

National rare-cancer patient group

HOW DID 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 Spanish patient groups) at 12 individual indicators of corporate reputation.

The indicators [listed below] have been developed over the years by PatientView, drawing on recommendations from patient groups, health professionals, health regulators, and industry.

The 24 companies ranked for corporate reputation—from the perspective of Spanish patient groups familiar with the company, 2018 v. 2017

PatientView's 12 indicators used to assess pharma corporate reputation

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.

ViiV Healthcare dominated the Spain Corporate-Reputation league tables for 2018, coming overall 1st out of 24 companies (the company was not included in 2017), and 1st for all 12 individual indicators of corporate reputation—according to the 19 respondent Spanish patient groups familiar with ViiV.

Janssen came overall 2nd out of 24 companies for corporate reputation in 2018 (down one place over 2017), according to the 64 respondent Spanish patient groups familiar with the company. And ...

Gilead came overall 3rd out of 24 companies for corporate reputation in 2018 (down one place over 2017), according to the 30 respondent Spanish patient groups familiar with the company.

Bristol-Myers Squibb saw the biggest increase in ranking in Spain, coming 8th out of 24 companies in 2018—up twelve places from the company's 2017 ranking.

- END OF PRESS RELEASE -

For further information on the 2018 SPAIN Corporate-Reputation report, please use contact details at the top of this press release