Physicians consider more than what a drug does when making prescribing decisions. They also look at who is behind the therapy. That is the conclusion of a WE Communications survey that found physicians are influenced by disease-specific leadership and corporate reputation when choosing which drug to use.
WE reached the conclusion by surveying 540 physicians across six markets. The communications agency drew a link between corporate reputation and prescribing decisions in a report last year. Building on that finding, WE’s latest survey takes a deeper dive into the factors that inform how physicians pick between medicines that have similar safety, efficacy and price.
The survey found 59% of physicians agree disease-specific leadership is very or extremely influential on which medicine they choose when multiple drugs have similar attributes. Corporate reputation is almost as important, with 58% of physicians saying it is at least very influential on their decisions.
Eighty-one percent of physicians said corporate reputation has at least a moderate effect on perceptions of the value of a medicine. There are other advantages to a strong corporate reputation, with 62% of respondents saying it improves trust among the medical community and 34% agreeing it increases collaboration opportunities with physicians.
So, corporate reputation is important to physicians. But what factors give companies good reputations, and how can drugmakers improve perceptions? WE found reliability and credibility is the most important component of corporate reputation. Almost two-thirds of physicians defined reliability and credibility as confidence in product quality and efficacy, leading WE to say companies should “emphasize evidence-based outcomes, quality control and transparency about clinical trials.”
Trust is the second most important driver of corporate reputation. More than half of physicians said companies earn trust when they show a long-term commitment to patients and well-being. That finding informed WE’s recommendation that “storytelling should emphasize ethical drug development practices, safety record and patient support programs.”
The survey also tallied the top actions biopharma companies can take to improve reputation. Physicians put fighting to improve access to medicine, showcasing a positive contribution to society and being a leader in R&D innovation as the top three reputation-enhancing actions.
The finding suggests recent corporate branding campaigns are on the right track. AbbVie put its R&D innovation in the spotlight in its “The Case for Big Bets” campaign earlier this year. And Eli Lilly focused on its work to address inequities in access to dermatology diagnosis and treatment in a recent expansion of its “Get Better” campaign.