Merck & Co is MCO pharmacy favorite

Merck & Co has received the highest overall assessment in afirst-quarter 2001 poll of managed care organizations' pharmacy directors. They gave it an Overall Assessment score of 363 points, followed by Novartis on 361 points, says the poll, conducted by Cognet-X.

The pharmacy directors placed Merck in the top spot for Knowledgeable Account Personnel and for Contract Terms during the quarter, while GlaxoSmithKline was favorite for Disease Management program offerings and Value-added Services. Novartis received the top ranking for Pull-through Programs, which Cognet-X describes as initiatives by pharmaceutical companies which are designed to increase the market share of specific products' while reducing MCOs' pharmaceutical expenditures.

The pharmacy directors found Merck to be "very flexible and responsive to their needs with regard to contract terms," according to Charles Maier, director of market research analysis at Cognet-X. In terms of the drugmaker's account personnel, he added that "one pharmacy director seemed to speak for most of his colleagues when he said it came down to 'trust, trust and more trust.' Merck understands the importance of building and maintaining strong business relationships."