When it comes to sizing up pharma’s corporate reputation, U.S. patient groups put GlaxoSmithKline’s ViiV Healthcare, Horizon Therapeutics and Pfizer on top.
The trio nabbed first, second and third places, respectively, among 41 ranked companies in PatientView’s U.S.-only breakdown of its 2021 corporate reputation of pharma survey.
The report is a follow-up to PatientView’s annual global study of 2,150 patient groups, released in April, which also gave top billing to the HIV-focused ViiV Healthcare but placed Pfizer and Roche/Genentech in the second and third spots.
Like their counterparts globally, the 240 U.S. patient groups polled on the industry’s overall reputation are looking at pharma more favorably compared to previous years, thanks to the industry’s well-documented image boost from COVID-19.
Sixty-seven percent of U.S. groups polled between November 2021 and February 2022 rated the industry’s reputation “excellent” or “good” overall, up from 57% in 2020.
PatientView attributes much of the positivity to the industry’s success in developing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Pharma’s support of patients during the health crisis also factored heavily, according to the report, with 81% of groups saying pharma was either “very effective” or “effective” in providing that support.
But the survey also highlights “a growing impatience” among U.S. patient groups when it comes to perennial problems like health inequities, rising drug prices and a perceived lack of transparency.
For example, a mere 12% rated pharma overall as “excellent” or “good” when it comes to fair pricing. That’s down from 14% in 2020.
And even in some areas where most groups say the industry is doing well, approval ratings are down significantly from 2020. The biggest drop came in the patient safety category, with 66% rating pharma “excellent” or “good” compared to 78% in 2020. Other categories with big drops included integrity and “patient centricity.”
Patient groups included in the survey spanned 21 therapeutic areas, with cancer and rare disease being the most represented areas. The individual rankings came from a subset of U.S. patient groups who said they were familiar with the companies being evaluated.
In addition to placing third overall, Pfizer won top ranking among the 13 “Big Pharma” companies (mirroring its top rank in the global report). Roche’s Genentech followed in the No. 2 spot, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen placed third.
Amgen, meanwhile, earned the equivalent of the “most improved” award, with the biggest one-year jump in the ranking, moving up 13 spots between 2020 and 2021 to eighth place.