Patient trust in drugmakers declining, new report shows

Increasing numbers of pharmaceutical companies are seeking to redefine their relationships with patients, recasting their companies as more patient-centric, according to PatientView’s latest annual review of corporate reputation of the pharmaceutical industry during 2012, which found that patients’ trust in drugmakers is declining.

This was a global survey, conducted mid-November to mid-December 2012, exploring the views of 600 international, national, and regional patient groups from 56 countries (72% from Europe) and differing specialties. Patient group feedback provides rankings of 29 leading pharma companies for six key indicators that influence corporate reputation: patient-centeredness; patient information; patient safety; useful products; transparency; and integrity.

The overall reputation of pharma declined in 2012. Only 34% of the 600 patient groups responding to the 2012 survey state that multinational pharma companies had an “Excellent” or “Good” reputation during 2012. The equivalent figure from the 500 patient groups responding to the 2011 survey was 42%. 40% of the 600 respondent patient groups state that the reputation of the pharma industry had declined during 2012. As many as 50% of the 600 respondent patient groups say that industry had a “Poor” record in 2012 for having fair pricing policies.48% of the 600 respondent patient groups say that industry had a “Poor” record in 2012 for being transparent. When the 2012 results are compared with those of 2011, the sharpest falls in pharma performance are for the following: